To Give Warning
by Tuxedo Will
Summary: In remembering the past, Kino Makoto might just change the future. But sometimes ignorance is preferable to knowing what is to come.
1. Chapter 1 Rabbit Rampage

**To Give Warning****  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

Authors' Forewords:

This idea first came into being several years ago. We were discussing the possibly of doing a World War II story unrelated to any anime since we both share a common interest in the history of that era. However, that digressed into what impact the Sailor Senshi being present in World War II Imperial Japan might have had on events. From that dialog, the kernel for this story developed. Due to the fact that other stories were ahead of it though, we had to delay production on this work until now. We hope you will enjoy this story as we return to our roots and explore yet another unique concept. Your comments are encouraged.

This story is set in the original Japanese Sailor Moon® anime's "_Super_" arc, which was aired in Japan in 1994.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

Rating: **PG**

**Chapter 1 "Rabbit Rampage"**

_Sunday, May 8, 1994_  
><em>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan<em>

"U-sa-gi! Telephone!" came the voice of her mother Ikuko from downstairs. Tsukino Usagi (AKA Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity, Leader of the Sailor Senshi, and ditzy fifteen year old junior high school student) jerked upright from where she had been dozing at the desk in her bedroom. Her textbook had stuck to the side of her face and there was a small damp spot on one of the pages from where some drool had leaked on it. "Wha?" was the petite blonde's response.

Her mother called her again. Getting up, she responded, "Coming Mom!" Coming downstairs, she smiled as she saw her mother standing at the bottom of them. "Nani? Who is it?"

"Makoto dear."

"Arigato Mom," Usagi chirped. She gave her mom a quick hug and then picked up the receiver. "Hey Mako-chan!" she greeted her friend.

"My, you're full of energy this morning, Usagi-chan."

"Hai!" Usagi agreed and then swallowed a yawn as her mother stared at her. "So how's things?"

"I wanted to know if you were busy today after lunch."

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"I have a new... well sorta new recipe for cookies I'm trying out and I wanted to know if you and Chibi-Usa would help taste test them for me."

"Honto?" When Usagi got an affirmative, she said, "Hang on, Mako-chan, and I'll ask Mom if it's okay."

"Is your homework done?" the middle-aged mother of two asked when her daughter asked permission to go to Makoto's apartment.

"Mo-om...!"

"Usagi..."

"I'll do it later, Mom. I promise." Usagi then played her trump card. "And Makoto invited me AND Chibi-Usa."

That made the woman take pause. "Homework. Tonight."

"Hai, hai... Tonight," Usagi agreed. "Can I go, Mom? Please?"

"I'll check your homework in the morning, Usagi-chan, and if it's not done..."

"Jeez, Mom, I said I'd do it tonight."

"All right and Chibi-Usa can go with you... and no fighting!" she warned her daughter. 'That'll get them both out of my hair for awhile.' "I'll be very unhappy if I find out you did."

Usagi winced but nodded and told Makoto she'd be over after lunch. She would have preferred not to have Chibi-Usa along too but to get some of Makoto's yummy cookies, she was willing to tolerate almost anything.

Skipping upstairs, the petite ninth-grader settled herself at her desk and was about to begin her homework anew when Luna piped up, "What was that all about, Usagi? You look pretty happy all of a sudden."

"Mako-chan invited me and Chibi-Usa over for some of her super yummy cookies." She licked her lips in anticipation. She turned to the feline and asked, "Wanna come too, Luna?"

"No, a quiet afternoon without you and Chibi-Usa bickering would be a godsend," Luna declared, sitting atop the textbook her charge had drooled on earlier, "And your mother might actually read some of that novel. It's to a good point in the plot but she's been so busy, it's been awhile since she could just curl up and read it."

"Um... Don't you think she'd find a cat reading along just the least bit I don't know... odd?" she questioned sarcastically.

"Oh no, not at all, Usagi," the black cat answered in all seriousness, "Your mom likes reading to me. She does wonderful voices for the different characters when she's alone. I wonder if she wanted to be an anime voice actor when she was younger?"

# # # # #

While there was no thunder, the rain beat a constant tattoo against the apartment windows belonging to fifteen year old Kino Makoto. The tall, well-developed teen with green eyes and brown hair wore it in a high ponytail. Unlike Makoto, Usagi wore her golden blond hair in her trademark "_odangos_" and long streaming pigtails. At the moment though, said girl's pigtails were pooling on the floor as she crouched in front of the oven anxiously attempting to will the cookies inside to bake faster.

"Staring at them, Usagi-chan," Makoto told her friend wryly, "Won't make them bake any faster. Haven't you heard the one about the watched pot?" Seeing her friend's disappointed expression, she added, "And I have a plate of the cookies right here. Now come and try one."

"But I like them hot!" Usagi whined. However that didn't stop the petite teen from standing up, going to the counter, where her friend was sitting on a stool, and taking one of the offered treats. "By the way, Mako-chan, arigato for inviting me and Chibi-Usa over. We love trying new things you come up with," she declared before popping the entire cookie into her mouth and swallowing it in one gulp.

"Don't be such a pig, Usagi," eight year old Tsukino Usagi Serenity (Chibi-Usa to her friends) complained. She walked over and hoisted herself up onto a stool beside her taller friend. The girl's strawberry-blond hair was styled in a similar fashion to her mother's although Chibi-Usa had cone-shaped odangos rather than round ones. "A properly lady eats with grace, not like a half-starved animal," the child informed her parroting something told to her on occasion by her mother (Neo-Queen Serenity). To demonstrate, she picked up a cookie off the tray gracefully and took a dainty bite of it. "See?"

'Of for the love of...' Makoto thought. "Usagi, please have another; there's plenty." The teenager blew a silent sigh of relief as her pigtailed friend snatched up two cookies and set about devouring them in typical Usagi-like fashion, instead of starting an argument. Nevertheless, Usagi continued to glare at her future daughter with big blue eyes as she did so. "So, how are they?"

"Sugoi!" Usagi declared, somehow managing to speak around her mouthful without spewing cookie crumbs all over the counter. "These are really yummy, Mako-chan!"

"Yeah, they are," Chibi-Usa agreed but then mocked, "But how the '_human vacuum cleaner_' can taste anything is beyond me."

Usagi, who'd been reaching for a forth cookie, drew her hand back. Her face took on a thunderous expression. Makoto stepped in before an explosion could occur. "Have another, Usagi-chan. I made way too many. I won't be able to eat all of these myself." She waved at the plate and then told Chibi-Usa, "You're lucky I'm not your mom."

"Why not?" Usagi asked. Both stared at the tall brunette beside her.

"Yeah, Mako-chan. Why not?" Chibi-Usa repeated. "I bet you'd make a great mommy! I mean you know how to cook all sorts of yummy stuff and your place is always so nice and clean..." 'Even in the future.' "Unlike Usagi's pigsty of a room. And I bet you get way better grades than her." She looked pointedly with her red eyes at Usagi. "I mean Usagi ain't nothing like MY mommy." She said it more to annoy her than to reveal anything about the future.

"Because," the brunette began in answer to the girl's earlier question and careful to raise her voice just loud enough to prevent Usagi from retorting, "If I was your mom, young lady, I'd put you over my knee for being so rude to my friend and YOUR elder."

"I'm too old for that!" the eight year old protested.

"I dunno, sweetheart." Usagi chimed in. "Mom seemed to think you were young enough a couple of days ago." The little girl's cheeks turned bright pink. Not wanting Usagi to go into detail, she immediately grabbed three cookies off of the plate, turned, and hopped off the stool. She then went to sit down on Makoto's couch.

'Um, maybe that was stupid,' the brunette considered as she watched the unhappy child for a moment. She then glanced at her best friend who was looking oddly at her. "Gomen, Usagi-chan," she whispered. She picked up a cookie, took a bite, chewed, and swallowed it before continuing, "Guess I shouldn't have said that, ne?"

The blonde shook her head and replied in a low voice, "It's okay, Mako-chan." She took her friend's hand in her own. "I wish... I mean thanks for stepping in. I shouldn't let her get to me so much but it... it hurts." Usagi's blue eyes took on a pained look. "I know next to nothing about Neo-Queen Serenity and every time I get compared to her, I feel like I'm failing." 'Will I ever be that grand lady she talks about?' She sighed. "I'll make us some tea."

Makoto watched her friend for a few minutes in silence, occasionally nibbling on another cookie. 'I think I mixed too much flour in the batter,' she thought critically. Looking around for the pad on which she'd written her latest recipe down, she considered the ingredient list.

"Here," Usagi's voice said, pulling the tall girl from her musing. She placed a cup of tea before her and then came around to take a stool beside her brown-haired friend. "So would you really have done that?"

"Ne, done what?"

Usagi glanced around, apparently looking for Chibi-Usa who was idly using the remote to flip through TV channels, before saying in a whisper, "Spank her?" When Makoto simply stared at her, she prodded, "If you were her mom, I mean."

The brunette teen blushed a little but admitted, "Well... Yes. I hate how she treats you, Usagi. If she was my daughter and she behaved that way... then yes, I would." Her green eyes flashed challengingly at her friend. "She should appreciate the family that she has!" 'She doesn't realize how lucky she is.'

The tall Sailor Senshi could see some of the same rebellious spirit in Chibi-Usa that she had in herself after her parents had died so tragically. It festered into an anger that eventually lost her all her friends and turned into violence. Usagi had helped her when no one else would and turned her life around. Makoto thanked the Kamis for that. Maybe she could do the same turn for Chibi-Usa. "Usagi, I think you owe Chibi-Usa for letting that bit about your mom spanking her slip."

"That was mean of me I guess," Usagi agreed in a low voice before sipping her tea and eating another cookie. "I'll make it up to her, Mako-chan." The petite teen was silent for a few moments before saying seriously, "I... just don't know how to act around her. I know I'm gonna be her mother someday but I'm not and..." She shrugged and drank some more tea. "I'm glad I'm too old for a spanking or Mom would definitely use it the way she nags me about stuff."

"Homework not coming along so well?" Makoto guessed.

"HAI!" Chibi-Usa interrupted. The girl got up and came over to the counter. "Usagi hasn't even touched her homework!"

Usagi, who'd been about to bite into another cookie, stopped and glared at the young girl. "Nani?"

"Home-work, you know that stuff they give us in school," Chibi-Usa asked sarcastically. "The stuff Ikuko-mama was talking about before." The little girl put her hand on her heart then proudly declared to Makoto, "Mine's done!"

"That's not fair!" the pigtailed blonde whined, "Yours is _majorly_ easier than mine,".

"Help yourself to some milk, Chibi-Usa-chan," Makoto interjected, attempting to circumvent a full-fledged fight breaking out between her two guests. When the girl got her milk and had retreated to the couch again, Makoto said in a low voice, "Come on, Usagi-chan, do you wanna flunk? We're ninth-graders now, not little kids. We have high school entrance exams to study for."

"But Mako-chan, it's so boring. You're starting to sound like Mom," she griped and stuffed a cookie into her mouth.

Makoto toyed idly with a cookie she'd picked up and then asked, "Do you like your mom ragging on you about your homework?" That got a shake of the head. "And do you think Mamoru would like a stupid wife?"

"He's just around me because he wants Serenity," Usagi pouted. The teenager took up another cookie but started to shred it as she continued, "Sure, he says he loves me but look what happened to him with Queen Beryl. Or even when..." Here she paused in the destruction of the cookie to glance at Chibi-Usa. "SHE arrived. I'm Sailor Moon and his destined love yet he dumped me to protect her."

"But didn't Mamoru stand up to Beryl in the end?"

"He was Prince Endymion at the time for _PRINCESS_ Serenity."

"And Mamoru wants to protect you, and boys can do truly weird things when they're in love. Just look at Umino." Makoto sighed and sipped her tea when Usagi looked stubborn. 'Why can't she apply that effort to other things? I'd love to have a boyfriend that cared for me like that,' she mused and then had to laugh at herself. When the blonde gave her a questioning look, she explained, "Usagi-chan, you are by far the most strong-willed person I know. You never, ever, give up. I was just thinking that I wish you'd apply some of that tenacity to other things... like schoolwork."

"Your grades are only a little better than mine. Besides, I bet you haven't done your homework yet either," Usagi speculated.

Makoto blushed in embarrassment. "I know... I guess I sound like the pot calling the kettle black." Usagi brightened a little. "But I also know I don't wanna see my best friend and future queen failing." After taking another sip of tea, she added, "Don't you want your parents and Mamoru to be proud of you?"

"I guess..."

"And do you like Rei yelling at you?" Usagi shook her head. "Then when you leave, go home and prove to them you can work hard at something other than being lazy and eating."

"I'm not lazy!" the blonde protested.

"Yes, you are!" Chibi-Usa shot back and stuck her tongue out.

"Ignore her," Makoto instructed. "And Usagi... When we're supposed to be studying, you doddle, munch food, and read Rei's manga."

Usagi was silent for a long moment and then grumbled, "You just asked me over here so you could nag me about my homework, ne?"

"Of course not!" her friend replied loftily with a grin. 'I was lonely.' She would never tell Usagi that though. Instead, she inquired with a devilish expression on her face, "I asked you over 'cause I really wanna know what's the skinny on you and Mamoru-kun's last date. I heard from Minako it was majorly hot." She smiled as Usagi's eyes lit up. If you wanted to cheer up Tsukino Usagi, get her talking about her two favorite things: food and Mamoru. 'I just don't know which she treasures more,' she mused with a mental smirk.

# # # # #

'I am NOT sulking,' Chibi-Usa told herself firmly as she channel surfed. 'Nothing's on...' She looked over to where the two teens were sitting idling chitchatting. 'Oh man... Now they're giggling! This is so boring!' She certainly didn't want to join them. Instead, she turned the television off and started wandering around Makoto's apartment. She looked at various things while occasionally glancing back at the two older girls who had their heads close together in low voices.

Regarding the tall brunette, the little girl frowned and felt her stomach knot. 'I can't believe she said if she was my mommy, she'd... ' Chibi-Usa felt her cheeks going pink as she chopped off the unpleasant thought. 'I mean I love Usagi... It's just that...'

Returning her attention to what was in front of her, the girl spotted something intriguing. Crouching down to get a better look, her eyes widened slightly when she saw that it was a photo album. It was under a pile of other books. 'Boy, this looks old!' Chibi-Usa guessed as she worked carefully to extract it. "Come on..." the little girl muttered, "Come on..." 'I wanna find out what Makoto looked like when she was a kid.' That might give her some leverage. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't budge it.

Scowling, the youngster got one hand under the pile of books that pinning the photo album down and lifted. With the other hand, she grabbed its spine and yanked. "Hah!" she cried as her prize popped free.

"What do you think you're doing, young lady?"

"AAA!" Chibi-Usa yelled as Usagi's voice thundered close beside her. The books went flying and the strawberry-blonde girl toppled backwards to land on her butt with a thump. The album was still clutched in her hand. She looked up at Usagi standing above her with a scowl on her face. "Don't do that!" she hissed in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Well, what were you doing, Chibi-Usa?" Usagi asked, hands on hips and her blue eyes blazing. Makoto stood beside her, arms folded with a slight frown marring her face.

"Jeez, Usagi, I was trying _not_ to be bored to death while you two were having a _giggle fest_," the eight year old declared while getting up, "Then I found this photo album. I wanted to have a look."

"In other words, you were snooping!"

"Curiosity killed the cat," Makoto commented.

"But satisfaction brought it back," Chibi-Usa countered with a grin and a giggle. She scowled as Makoto took the album from her and opened it. "So what are those pictures?" She always liked looking at old pictures. No pictures of the girls (much less any of their ancestors) survived into the future. It was hard to believe sometimes that they were ever little like her. That was one reason but the next was equally as important. 'If I can keep them occupied, they won't start talking about boring stuff,' she assumed as the ponytailed teen went over and sat on the couch.

"Chibi-Usa-chan, this is my family album," Makoto explained as the two Tsukino girls joined her on the sofa. "See..." she indicated while turning the book so that the first page of photographs could be seen. The center one held Makoto, though a few years younger - a preteen - and a man and woman who Usagi assumed to be Makoto's parents. "My mom and dad," Makoto answering her friend's unspoken question, pointing to each.

Usagi squinted at the picture. "Um... Mako-chan... Your dad is missing his eyebrows." She quickly apologized realizing she was making fun of the dead.

Makoto blinked, looked at the picture more closely, and then started to laugh, "Oh, I remember that. I was a big cook, even when I was ten. I... I got a little '_enthusiastic_' one day and tried to do a volcanic onion." She blushed at the memory. "Boy was my dad sore at me!"

"Volcanic onion?" both of her friends asked.

"You take an onion, separate the rings, stake them like a volcano, and then fill with oil before lighting it on fire." She chuckled at her friends disbelieving expressions. "It's quite a sight if it's done right, especially when you're an aspiring chef. In that case..."

Usagi and Chibi-Usa continued to stare at Makoto for several seconds after her explanation. "See?" the strawberry-blonde demanded of her mother, "I've never done ANYTHING like that!"

"No, you just stole the Ginzuishou... twice," Usagi countered, making the little girl scowl and cross her arms in annoyance.

"Now let's see," the brown-haired teen continued as she turned several pages until she found the one that she wanted. "Ah, here we go. This is what you guys really wanna see... Me as a baby!" This immediately stopped the glaring match that mother and daughter were having.

"**KAWAII!** You were so cute!" Usagi exclaimed upon seeing the picture of baby Makoto. "Oh look, you even had a ponytail back then!" She pointed at the small tuft of brown hair in the photo.

"More of a topknot I think."

"Topknot?" Chibi-Usa asked, looking from the picture to regard Makoto curiously. "You mean like what the samurai had?"

"Sorta fits too considering I'm Sailor Jupiter and samurai were warriors."

"And who's this?" Chibi-Usa asked pointing to a photo in which a stern looking older fellow was standing beside Makoto's mother who was holding a baby Makoto on her lap.

"Ojii-san. My mom's dad. I never knew my grandparents on my father's side. I don't even remember him." She pointed to the picture. "I just have the photos of him. He died when I was three. Obaa-chan used to tell me about him though. Like how he got hurt during the Second World War."

"That happened a _long_ time ago, ne?" Chibi-Usa asked while looking at one of the pictures. They had only touched upon the subject in her class.

"Hai," Makoto and Usagi said together.

"I wonder how old I'll be when I'm pregnant with Chibi-Usa?" Usagi mused.

The little girl made a sour face. "I keep telling you, Odango Atama," she squawked, "**You **_**ain't**_** my mommy.**"

Makoto prepared for an explosion but all Usagi did was close her eyes, take several deep breaths, and then asked, "So, Mako-chan, what was your grandmother like?"

"Oh..." Makoto took on a distant look, a soft smile touching her lips. "She was around until I was ten so I remember a lot. Let's see..." The teenager flipped the pages until she came to one picture of a cute six year old Makoto standing in front of an elderly woman. Both were dressed in yakata and were smiling at the camera. "This was at Tanabata [Star Festival]."

"Oh wow, you and her look a lot alike," Usagi exclaimed. "Even with the age difference, I can tell you two are related." 'I wish Chibi-Usa would see it in us.' She considered and then curious wondered, "Do you have a picture of your grandmother when she was younger... maybe around our age?"

"I think so..." Makoto replied and started turning pages slowly. It took a couple of minutes for her to find the page that she wanted. When she did, she held the photo album up, resting it on her thigh so that both Usagi and Chibi-Usa could see it clearly. "Whoa..." both girls breathed. It was a black and white picture of her grandmother and a couple of other girls dated 1943 wearing worker uniforms. They all appeared to be high school aged.

"Yeah, I know. Except for the hair and the height I could pass for her."

"I think someone who knew you well would be able to tell you apart, Makoto," Usagi argued seriously, "I mean she's not..." The blonde then pointedly glanced at Makoto's bosom and then at the picture. "And your face is a little different, more angular. Hers is a little fuller..."

Makoto regarded the picture of her grandmother for several seconds and then smiled. "I loved her a lot, Usagi-chan. She loved me too." She flipped a few pages and smiled. "Here... Obaa-chan, Mom, and me that Dad took. We were going to the shrine on New Year's." She smiled down affectionately at the photograph of herself (age eight), her mother, and grandmother as they smiled for the camera. Usagi wanted to move on to a happier topic but Chibi-Usa asked a question.

"Did she teach you how to cook?" Chibi-Usa asked curiously. "Do you miss her?"

"Chibi-Usa," Usagi hissed.

"Yes, I certainly do, Chibi-Usa-chan," Makoto answered. "Both her and mom taught me to cook. Obaa-chan taught me a lot of things about life too. If I was down in the mouth, she was able to pull me out of whatever foul mood I was in." She chuckled. "If I was doing something she disapproved of, she'd just give me a look and kept on looking at me until I stopped."

"And that worked?" Usagi asked then glanced at Chibi-Usa.

"Oh, most of the time, but then I didn't want to disappoint her. Besides my parents, Obaa-chan was the most important person in my life when I was little. I wish they were still here." She flipped the pages again and smiled down at another picture. "This is the last picture I have of Obaa-chan. It was taken during Hanami [Cherry Blossom Festival] at Ueno Park." Makoto's grandmother was dressed in a bronze-colored kimono with a dark brown under-kimono. The obi was made up of tiny gray and white checks. Behind her was a large man. By his bulk, Makoto had always assumed he was a sumo wrestler.

"Oh hey, there's Usagi!" Chibi-Usa exclaimed suddenly jabbing her finger at the fat man.

"What? Where?"

"Right there!" the little girl quipped while tapping the man, "Nobody but you is that large!"

Giggling, the youngster danced away from Usagi as the blonde leapt to her feet and started chasing the eight year old around the apartment. "Come back here!" she thundered. Makoto sighed, and left the two girls two it as she carefully put away her precious photo album. "**Come back here!**" Usagi thundered as she continued her pursuit. "I'll show you some sumo moves!"

"You'd crush me to death!" the younger girl declared as she ran around nimbly avoiding the teen. Usagi however was not only older but faster; she had to be after all to make sure she got to school on time given her habit of waking up late. Eventually, she caught Chibi-Usa who started to struggle. "**Let me go, Usagi!**" the youngster demanded as she squirmed and tried to get free as Usagi started tickling her, "Heee d-don't do that! Baka Odango Atama!"

Makoto sighed and rubbed her forehead. 'Why do they always do this?' she wondered as she watched Usagi and Chibi-Usa beginning to wrestle. She winced as the pair toppled off of the couch to the floor. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" she finally shouted as the voices grew louder. Wading into the tangle of arms and legs, she pulled the two combatants apart, not caring if she wasn't very gentle. 'I don't want the neighbors calling the police...' "Usagi, there's more cookies to eat. Come and have some. I won't eat them all."

None of the girls noticed that something had fallen to the floor or in the process of the two Tsukinos being separated that the object in question had been kicked under the couch.

Usagi, looking shame-faced glanced at the window, and then announced, "Gomen, Mako-chan, thanks anyway but I think we should go home." She could tell that her friend was upset and she felt her face blushing. She bowed. "Thanks for asking us over Makoto but if we're gonna walk home, we should go now while the rain's stopped and it's still light out."

"Well, while you two get ready, I'll pack up some cookies so you can take them home with you. Give some to your parents and Shingo for me," Makoto suggested. "And Usagi, when you get home, study? Please?"

"Hai," Usagi reluctantly agreed. "Come on, Chibi-Usa-chan."

"But I don't..."

"Either come with me right now or I'll phone Mom and tell her you were being rude!" Usagi hissed.

"Me?" Chibi-Usa squeaked but the look in Usagi's eyes stopped her tirade cold. "Okay fine," she grumbled and started to get ready to leave.

# # # # #

Several minutes later, both Tsukino girls were walking down the sidewalk. "Ne, Usagi-chan," Chibi-Usa began as they paused at a red light, "Was Mako-chan grumpier than normal?"

Usagi, who was carrying a container of the homemade cookies, glanced at her daughter and then said, "I think Mako-chan is tired of us fighting, Chibi-Usa." The little girl winced. "So am I."

"Well, you started it," Chibi-Usa muttered.

"I think the problem was I refused to end it," the older girl countered as they started across the street.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Chibi-Usa demanded as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Usagi.

"It means, young lady, that instead of doing something to stop the fight like an adult, I continued fighting with you and disrupted Mako's home," Usagi explained as she continued down the sidewalk. She came up short as the younger girl stopped and waited so she could cross the street the other way. "Hey, that's not the way home."

"It's the way over to Mamoru's," Chibi-Usa informed her.

"We're going home," Usagi told her daughter, "Now come on."

"But I want to see Mamo-chan."

"He's at work," the teen pointed out, "And I have homework to do. Now come on." 'I owe Makoto that for making these great cookies for us.' The child scowled. "Listen, Chibi-Usa-chan, I don't know what your problem is today but fix it! I don't care what sort of carrot you got up your nose but I love you and nothing you do is gonna change that!" Usagi declared. Reaching out, she firmly grasped the younger girl's hand. "Now, home!"

# # # # #

Makoto let out a groan and flopped down onto her couch. She had a headache the size of Mount Fuji! "I love Usagi," she confided to her plants, "But sometimes that girl drives me up the wall. She can be so mature sometimes but then it flows away like water down a drain!" She let out a sigh and closed her eyes.

After sitting like that for some time, she got up again and went to make herself some tea. "I'll use Obaa-chan's recipe. That always seemed to work for Granddad when his leg started hurting him, or so she told me." Makoto paused in filling the tea kettle. She started to chuckle and shook her head. 'I wonder what the others would think if they knew I talked to my plants and discussed my problems with them?'

While she was waiting for the water to come to a boil, the phone rang. Picking it up, "Moshi moshi, Kino residence!"

"Hey girlfriend!" came the normally bubbly voice of Aino Minako.

"Mina-chan?" Makoto asked, "Are you okay? You sound like you got laryngitis or something..."

"Gotta be quiet," her friend whispered. "I'm _sorta_ grounded."

The brunette lifted her eyebrows. "Grounded? You?"

"Ha! Ha!" the beribboned blonde huffed sarcastically before asking, "So?"

"So what?" Makoto asked, taking the kettle off the burner and starting to prepare herself tea.

"So did you talk to Usagi about the _you-know-what_?"

"No."

"No?" Minako squeaked and then things on her end went very quiet before she asked in a quiet voice, "No? But Makoto..."

"Chibi-Usa came over with her. I couldn't exactly ask Usagi to come over for a watch-the-hunks movie night with her in the room, now could I? Chibi-Usa would wanna come over and we all agreed that there would be _no kids allowed_." The ponytailed teen made a face. "Of course, sometimes I'm not sure who the _bigger_ kid between the two of them is."

"I take it they fought?" Minako speculated after several seconds of silence.

"Minako, if Chibi-Usa was _my_ child..."

"Listen, Mako-chan, just... talk to Usagi, 'kay?"

"I don't know why it's gotta be me," Makoto grumbled.

"Because I'm grounded..."

"And will you be '_ungrounded_' by next weekend?"

"Um... I think so. But Usagi... It has to be you because Rei's got stuff goin' on at the shrine. Ami's dad's in town so you're the best choice. I need to know if Usagi can come 'cause then I can tell my parents that even Usagi, who has worse grades than I do, is going. But if I don't start working on my parents soon, they'll just think I'm making things up." And then in a cheesy cowboy accent, the blonde continued, "However, li'l darling, if'n they knows I'm bein' left be-hind, then me parents will grant me clemency."

"Fine," Makoto reluctantly agreed. "Now hang up, Minako-chan. I have a headache... and it's the size of _Jupiter_ now."

Minako said her goodbyes and hung up. No sooner had Makoto replaced the receiver, then the phone rang again. "Moshi moshi?"

"So?"

"No, Rei-chan, I didn't ask her."

"Why not?" Rei demanded. "Don't tell me you're getting as irresponsible as Odango..." Makoto hung up the phone before the fiery shrine maiden could finish her rant.

When the phone rang again, the brunette seriously considered not answering it but with a sigh, she did so but didn't say anything. "Mako-chan?" came the tentative question after about five seconds of silence.

"Hey Ami-chan," Makoto said a bit more contentedly, "What's up?"

"Um... Am I bothering you?"

"Not really. I just have a lulu of a headache."

"Oh, Makoto-san, I was just wondering if you could please give me some advice with a recipe? I mean if you're not busy that is."

Makoto smiled. "Ami-chan, let me just pour myself a cup of tea and then you can tell me what the situation is."

"Arigato, you're a lifesaver."

End of Chapter 1

Coming next in **Chapter 2 "A Late Night Visit"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	2. Chapter 2 A Late Night Visit

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 2 "A Late Night Visit"**

_Sunday, May 8, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan <em>

**T**sukino Ikuko ascended the stairs and was more than a little thankful that her day was drawing to a close. Weekends tended to be more hectic with all the kids home from school. When she reached the second floor of her home, she made her way first to her son's room and tapped on the door. Hearing no response, she stuck her head in, sighed, and then entered. She stood there for a few moments. Still getting no reaction, she decided to flick the light switch off and on several times to get her son's attention.

Shingo immediately jerked around then snatched the headphones off his head. From them blared the sounds of some video game that he was playing on his Game Boy. "Come on, Shingo. You should be in bed by now."

"But Mo-om...!" he whined.

"It's a school night. Bed now!"

He grumbled but moved to comply; he knew that tone of voice. Still, he was a little putout though when his mother stood silently in the doorway to make sure he did. "Goodnight Mom," he finally uttered. The eleven year old was mortified when instead of leaving, his mother came over and then hugged him and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh hush, Shingo," Ikuko huffed gently when her son began to protest, "I'm your mother. You suckled from me and I powdered your bottom and burped you when you were tiny. You'll always be my little boy." That declaration just served to make him feel even more embarrassed. She loved it. Maybe he would think twice about staying up past his bedtime next time.

Softly chuckling, the raven-haired woman left her son's room and made her way down to Usagi's bedroom. She tapped on the door. "Come in!" Opening the door at the invitation, she smiled to see Usagi sitting in her pajamas with its traditional bunny head on the pocket brushing out her hair. Coming further into her room, Ikuko crossed to her daughter and hugged her. "I'm off to bed now, Usagi. Don't stay up too late. You have school tomorrow."

"I know, Mom," Usagi said and made a face.

"I'm very proud of you for sticking to your promise to do your homework. I hope you keep up that sort of effort."

"I just don't see why it's worth it," the teen grumbled unhappily. Ikuko chuckled and stroked her daughter's hair. Usagi looked up at her. "Mom... Do you..."

"Hmmm?"

"Do you ever regret being a mom?"

"Never!" Ikuko stated firmly.

"Never?" her daughter asked dubiously.

The thirty-something woman shook her head and settled herself onto the bed beside the blonde. "Usagi-chan, you and Shingo can certainly drive me to distraction. You can cause me worry and make me angry on occasion but neither one of you has ever done anything to stop me from loving you any less than I did when you came into this world."

Usagi sighed. "I love you too, Mom, but... I mean didn't you ever worry that one of your kids _wouldn't_ love you back?"

She regarded her petite teenage daughter for a long moment and then asked, "This is about Chibi-Usa, ne?" She got her answer when Usagi's head shot up and sad crystal blue eyes met her own.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Chibi-Usa loves you, Usagi-chan," Ikuko stated definitively, patting her daughter on the thigh, "You might not be able to see it, but she looks up to you. She is an only child and you are the onee she never had... The onee that she needs and loves."

"Then why does she argue with me all the time, Mom?"

"Why do you argue with me?"

Ikuko suppressed a laugh as the teenager gaped at her. "I do..." Usagi frowned and then her mother did laugh. "I... suppose I argue 'cause I want things a certain way and I get upset when they aren't." She blushed.

"That's right, Usagi, though sometimes I think you just do it on purpose to make sure I'm paying attention to you." Her daughter blushed even more. "But to get back to your problem. You want to know the best way to stop Chibi-Usa from arguing with you?" When Usagi nodded, she answered, "Ignore her. Keep her safe. If she speaks politely to you, then respond but if she starts yelling at you, ignore her."

"That'll work?"

"You, young lady, when you were little were the _Queen of Tantrums_," Ikuko told her daughter. "At least when you didn't get what you wanted. Your father and I tried everything and I was at my wits end. One of my friends from school just told me to ignore you. I thought that was a horrible idea but since I couldn't think of anything better to do..." She grinned. "So the next time you threw a tantrum, I let you scream yourself hoarse and pound on the floor with your fists and feet until you simply lay there. It took all my resolve not to run and comfort you. After a little bit, you got up yourself came over to me and asked for a hug. You asked nicely so I gave you one and helped blow your nose and wipe your tears away."

She didn't remember that episode. "I eventually stopped, ne?"

"Pretty much," Ikuko chirped with a grin then winked.

"But Chibi-Usa doesn't throw tantrums."

"No, but she does other stuff to get your attention." The woman got up, gave Usagi another hug, and suggested, "Just think about it, daughter of mine." She left the room and paused for a moment listening to the quietness of the house. Turning to her right, she walked the rest of the way down the hall and crept quietly up the stairs leading to her niece's bedroom. Much to her surprise, Chibi-Usa's bed was empty and her room looked as if a typhoon had hit it. 'Where is that girl?' Frowning, she turned and went back downstairs. She looked around the second floor as if the little girl would suddenly appear out of thin air and then strolled down the hall. She checked the bathroom but that was empty as well. Finally, she stuck her head into Usagi's room again.

"Have you seen Chibi-Usa?"

"No, Mom, I thought she was in bed already," Usagi replied.

"She's probably sneaking a cookie or something," Ikuko sighed. "I'll go chase her down. Goodnight, Usagi."

# # # # #

While Ikuko had been talking with her daughter, Chibi-Usa had snuck downstairs - not to pilfer a cookie but to use the telephone. It turns out that while she was getting ready for bed, she realized that her Time Key was missing. A very intensive search of her bedroom subsequently had turned up nothing.

The little girl began to panic at that point. She at first thought about contacting Sailor Pluto but she dismissed that idea almost immediately. After all, the Sailor Senshi of Time would definitely not take kindly to the idea of her having lost such an important and potentially dangerous device.

The eight year old had then decided to swallow some of her pride and ask Usagi for help only to discover that her grandmother was talking to her. The girl worried and waited out of sight for her grandmother to leave. Before Ikuko left though, it struck Chibi-Usa that the only place she could have lost it was (she hoped) in Makoto's apartment. This was too important to wait until morning so while everyone was upstairs, the little strawberry-blonde took the opportunity to go downstairs and make a phone call.

# # # # #

Kino Makoto was wrenched out of a sound sleep by the ringing of her telephone. She lay there for a moment wondering if she should simply ignore the late night caller. 'Who could it be?' She knew that it couldn't be Sailor Senshi business; they would have used their communicators. Deciding to answer it anyway, she sighed, rolled over, and lifted up the receiver. "Moshi moshi, Kino residence."

"Mako-chan!" came the hushed whisper.

"Oh for the sake of the Kami, Minako...!"

"It's not Minako. It's me Chibi-Usa!" That made the tall brunette sit up in bed and take notice.

"Chibi-Usa? Is Usagi all right? Why didn't you..." Again, the child cut her off.

"Listen, Mako-chan, is _my_ Time Key there?"

"Nani?" At least, Usagi was fine.

"Is _my_ Time Key there?" the child questioned again, although this time she drew each word out as if she was talking to a simpleton.

"I don't know."

"Well why don't you look..."

"Pardon me, young lady?" the brunette interrupted. "Would you care to rephrase that?"

Silence initially greeted her request and then the voice on the other end of the line asked, "Would you see if my Time Key is there... please Kino-san?"

"You lost it?"

"I can't find it anywhere. Maybe Usagi stole it." She didn't think that was very likely though. "I think I lost it there. Would you look please?" The desperation was back in the little girl's voice.

"Are you sure it's not in your room?"

"Please Kino-oneesan?" Makoto could tell that the girl was starting to tear up. "I looked all over my bedroom. Please! It's really really important and..."

"Oh all right, Chibi-Usa, give me a minute..." Makoto sighed, set the phone down, and got out of bed. Yawning and grumbling, she put some house slippers on and shuffled out into her dark living room. She flipped on a light and started hunting for the missing key.

Her initial examination didn't turn up anything. Pausing, she tried to think where Chibi-Usa had been. 'The couch,' she thought and pulled the cushions off. Finding nothing, except some crumbs, Makoto replaced the cushions. She tapped her lips wondering where it could be. Then she looked under the couch. She couldn't see anything. She wasn't about to get a flashlight, get on her hands and knees, and hunt for it in the middle of the night.

Returning to her bedroom, the brunette lifted up the receiver, and reported, "I'm sorry, kiddo. I couldn't find anything. Tell you what... I'll take another look in the morning before I head to school."

"WHAT?" Chibi-Usa squeaked, "But it HAS to be there!"

"I looked. It's getting late. Don't worry. If it's here, Chibi-Usa, it's not going anywhere," Makoto reasoned.

"Look harder!" Chibi-Usa whined.

"That's it!" the teen countered, "I'm calling your mother!"

The eight year old ignored the threat. "It has to be there. I wasn't over at Mamo..." The youngster was abruptly cut off by something and then Makoto heard her say, "But Ikuko-mama... I lost my..." There was some noise on the line and then Usagi's mother came on.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Hello Tsukino-san," Makoto greeted. "It's Makoto here." Chibi-Usa phoned... She thinks she left something here at my place today." She paused for a moment before deciding to add, "She was rather... insistent."

"Gomen, I'm terribly sorry my niece disturbed you, Kino-san," Ikuko apologized. "If it is all right with you, may Chibi-Usa come by tomorrow after school and look? It's too late tonight."

"Yes, that would be okay," Makoto agreed even as she heard Chibi-Usa arguing with Mrs. Tsukino. The tall teen winced. She had seen firsthand that arguing with Usagi's mother was a losing proposition. "Goodnight, Tsukino-san."

"Goodnight, Kino-san," Ikuko finished. Makoto let out a long sigh as she heard Chibi-Usa's raise her voice in protest as the call ended.

# # # # #

"Enough Usagi!" Ikuko snapped at her young niece, "This toy of yours is not so important that you can't pick it up tomorrow! And when you do, you will apologize to Kino-san for disturbing her so late."

"But it's not a toy, Ikuko-mama!" Chibi-Usa yelped. "It's a..."

"I don't care what it is," her "aunt" countered, "What I care about is that it's way past your bedtime and you're not in your bed. Now upstairs, Chibi-Usa. March!"

Chibi-Usa opened her mouth to protest, closed it, and gave her a pleading look. Her future grandmother only pointed upstairs. Grumbling, she stomped up the stairs. Ikuko followed. 'It ain't fair! I'll just wait until they're all asleep and then I'll sneak over to Makoto's,' the youngster decided as she walked grumpily down the hallway up the other flight of steps into her bedroom. She wasn't going to wait until tomorrow afternoon.

"Pick up this mess. I don't want you tripping over something in the middle of the night," the mother of two ordered and stood there with her hands on her hips for the next few minutes as the eight year old reluctantly complied. Once the room was relatively tidy, she then commanded, "In bed, young lady! We'll discuss your punishment tomorrow." Chibi-Usa gave her one more pleading look and then got into bed. Ikuko gave her a final stern look and then left the room.

'Okay Chibi-Usa! Don't fall asleep!' She wanted to rush out right then but she was worried that her grandmother might come back and check on her.

# # # # #

Artemis yawned, stretched, and then settled back onto his belly on the roof of the dormer window that led into Chibi-Usa's bedroom. The white lunar cat turned his head and regarded his furry companion.

Luna settled beside him with a sigh, stretched out her forelegs, and flexed her claws. "This is very frustrating, Artemis," she commented, looking out over the nighttime Tokyo skyline. "There's something going on with the Tomoe's." She turned her head to gaze at him. "I just can't figure it out. First, I know the Professor is up to something but I don't have a clue as to what. Then Hotaru seems like a nice albeit sickly child. Chibi-Usa has even developed a friendship with her and yet the Outer Senshi have tried to kill her."

Artemis nodded. "I've been trying to remember if they were even around in the Silver Millennium and I can't."

Luna shook her head. "Don't feel bad, Artemis. The Outers were seldom at Court. Sailor Pluto spent her time at the Gates of Time. Sailors Neptune and Uranus guarded the solar system from outside threats."

"And Saturn?" the white cat wondered. "Was there really one?"

"I can't remember for sure but Usagi does. But when I ask her what Sailor Saturn did, she gets very vague and changes the subject."

"Luna, sometimes Usagi can't even remember things that happened last week let alone that far back." He winced as the black cat batted him on the ear with a paw. "Well it's true, ne?"

"Yes," she agreed, "But... I was listening to something Ikuko was saying to Kenji this afternoon."

"And?" Artemis prompted when the black cat fell silent for several seconds.

"And the idea is that if we expect Usagi to be lazy and dumb and irresponsible, and keep telling her that, then she's just going to be that because she knows that we love her despite those flaws. Even worse, she might be afraid to change because she's afraid people won't love her."

"She told you this?"

"No, Artemis, but her mom was making the point to Kenji that maybe if they praised Usagi for accomplishments and toned down the nagging on the negative ones, they might get more positive results."

The white cat looked dubious but didn't say anything. Changing the subject, he said, "Well, we've tried the indirect approach and we can't watch Hotaru all the time. I think we'll just have to wait and see what happens next." He regarded her. "But do you think Professor Tomoe, Hotaru, and the new enemy are connected?"

"They have to be, and the Outers' actions seem to confirm that."

"Do you think we'll have trouble with them? They don't seem to like the girls much."

"No, in fact, Mamoru was telling me when he met..." Luna broke off and cocked her head. Artemis started to speak but she hastily hushed him. Then both cat's eyes widened as Sailor Chibi-Moon came sailing out of her bedroom window. She landed gracefully and then raced across the distance to the wall surrounding the Tsukino home. With another leap, she was heading off down the street at a rapid pace.

"Where is she going this time of night?" Luna asked. "Did you sense anything?"

"I don't sense anything and I don't know where she's going but I'll follow her. You go get Usagi. This might be important." The two lunar cats regarded each other and the nodded before going about their tasks.

# # # # #

Chiba Mamoru sat back, away from his laptop, closed his eyes, and squeezed the bridge of his nose. He was lucky enough to get to use the new _Windows 3.11_ operating system. He was working on his engineering class project. 'Sometimes, I'm as bad as Usagi for procrastinating,' he thought with a sigh as he let his hand drop to his lap. 'I always seem to leave the big papers until the last minute.'

"Mamoru?" His eyes snapped open and his neck kinked as he turned his face upwards and to the left. His eyes widened as he saw Sailor Moon standing beside him,

"Sailor Moon?" he asked, getting up and staring at her, "What's wrong?"

"I saw your light, Mamo-chan, and I thought I'd check here first."

"For what?" Mamoru asked, "I don't think you left anything here the last time you were over."

"It's not that," Sailor Moon begun, "I'm looking for OUR daughter."

"Our... daughter?" The man was puzzled for a moment and then his brain stopped thinking about his looming deadline and refocused on the pretty blond Sailor Senshi before him. "Chibi-Usa?" A nod. "Did she go missing?"

"According to Luna, she took off out of the house like a demon carrot was after her. She was transformed." Sailor Moon shook her head. "Well if she isn't here, maybe she dropped by Hotaru-chan's for a late night visit."

'I'm glad it wasn't the enemy.' "I'll come help," he volunteered.

"No." She smiled at him. "That's all right. You have a paper due tomorrow, mister, and you're in no position to be parental towards her at the moment." Sailor Moon then smiled, gave him a victory sign, and declared, "But I, Sailor Moon, am more than capable of squashing the naughtiness out of her like a 200 kilogram sumo bunny!"

Mamoru went rather red as his brain suddenly presented him with an image of his girlfriend dressed in an inflatable sumo outfit wearing bunny ears. By the time he recovered, the petite blonde was gone. 'Damn,' he thought as he summoned a rose, 'Now I won't be able to concentrate until I know they're both safe.'

# # # # #

Kino Makoto was roused from sleep for the second time that evening. This time by a thumping sound. "Oh Kami-sama, what now?" At first, she thought it was a neighbor doing something. But as she collected her wits and considered the direction of the sound, she realized it was coming from her balcony. Getting up, she left her bedroom cautiously and crossed to the balcony door.

Pulling aside the drapes, she was startled to discover Chibi-Moon standing there. "LEMME IN!" the eight year old pleaded.

"I'll let you in all right, young lady," Makoto grumbled and pulled the glass door aside. She took a quick look for Sailor Moon or the others but the child was apparently alone. "What are you doing here so late?" she demanded. She was even more annoyed when the younger girl stepped into her apartment and past her without uttering a word. Reaching out a hand, she caught her arm. "Well?"

"I came for MY key!"

"I told you it's not here!"

The strawberry-blonde frowned, yanked her arm free, and reiterated, "I think MY key is!" Makoto opened her mouth but Chibi-Moon continued, "Look, I thought about it and thought about it. This is the only place that it could be!" The pink Sailor Senshi turned and regarded the scowling tall teen before her. "This is very important. Please Mak-Kino-oneesan? Can't we look?"

"Kami-sama, I looked already. It's late. Can't this wait until tomorrow?" Makoto exploded.

"Please? If I can't find it tonight, Kino-_oneesan_, I'll have to tell Puu and she'll be REALLY mad." Chibi-Moon looked pleadingly up at the bleary-eyed brunette.

"Okay fine, but let's do this smartly!" Makoto said in a huff, "While I get a robe on, you can turn on the lights." She was not impressed when the youngster hugged her.

# # # # #

"Nothing," Luna admitted as she came back from the Tomoe house. Sailor Moon scooped up her friend and frowned. "I looked in the window. Hotaru-chan was sound asleep. Well... if Chibi-Moon didn't come here, or Mamoru's..."

"Perhaps," Tuxedo Kamen interjected, "We should call out the others to help search." He looked down at the pigtailed Senshi beside him. "Normally, you can tell where Chibi-Moon is."

"It's... like you," Sailor Moon replied while smiling up at her fiancé, "It only works if she's in danger. That's likely a good thing." She turned back to stare at the Tomoe house, which was dark and silent, and according to Luna devoid of any sort of magic. "Of course when I catch her..." She broke off as her communicator drew her attention. Pulling it out of her subspace pocket, Sailor Moon flipped the cover up and saw that Jupiter's sigil was glowing. Depressing it, she answered, "Moon here. What's up, Jupiter?"

"Moon? Why..." She quickly guessed why she was transformed. "Sailor Moon, Chibi-Moon is here and..."

"**SHE'S WHAT?**" Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen both screeched. This made the brunette's eyebrows rise and her eyes widen.

"Did I catch you two out on a date?"

"Never mind that, Makoto," the Leader of the Senshi huffed, "What is Chibi-Moon doing at your place?"

"Looking for her Time Key."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen looked at each other, sighed, and then started towards Makoto's apartment. "Keep her there, Kino-san," Tuxedo Kamen requested, "We'll be right there."

Luna squirmed free of her charge and announced, "I'll find Artemis and let him know that we've found her."

"Okay, but don't stay out too late."

"I won't," Luna promised and watched as the two future parents dashed off to apprehend their wayward future daughter. Alone, she was about to set off for her companion when her fur bristled. Slowly, the lunar cat turned and her eyes narrowed at the sight she found behind her. It was Sailor Pluto.

"We need to talk," the Sailor Senshi of Time told the feline.

# # # # #

Makoto came out of her bedroom dressed in a housecoat and watched patiently as Chibi-Moon conducted a thorough search of her living room. When the little girl requested a flashlight, the teen got her one. "There's just problem with your logic, Chibi-Moon," Makoto commented as the child looked behind the couch using the flashlight to illuminate the floor.

"Hmmm?"

"Why did you notice the Key missing so late? You left here hours ago."

The eight year old paused in her hunt and turned to face Makoto. "The Key's very light. It's... it's like a watch or something you wear all the time. You don't even notice it. I didn't miss it until I went to take my bath. Ikuko-mama was majorly grumpy and wouldn't let me look for it until after my bath. And I did look! And I couldn't find it anywhere and Usagi didn't let me go to Mamo-chan's today. So it has to be here."

"Well, what are you gonna do if you don't find it?"

Chibi-Moon who'd gotten off the couch made a sour face. "Fess up to Sailor Pluto. Not something I really wanna do." The teen watched as her young guest dropped to her knees and shown the flashlight under it. "Ha!"

"What?"

"I found it!" the strawberry-blond Sailor Senshi declared and stood up lifting the key in triumph. "Told ya. See, Mako-chan, the chain broke," she said, pointing at the broken chain that dangled from the key.

"There you are, young lady!" The new voice made both Chibi-Moon and Makoto start. They turned towards the balcony door that Makoto had left open and found Sailor Moon standing there with her arms crossed. Before either could speak, the petite blond Senshi marched across the room to stand before her future daughter with her hands on her hips. "I want you to explain yourself, now!"

"I don't have to..."

"Chibi-Moon, why are you out so late?" The other voice as even more of a shock to the little girl.

"Tuxedo Kamen-sama!" Chibi-Moon squealed as she moved to hug him but he stepped out of her reach.

"Why are you out so late? Was it the enemy?" he repeated. He wanted to give his daughter the chance to provide a legitimate alibi before Sailor Moon went off half-cocked.

"Chibi-Usa left her Time Key here," Makoto explained. That earned her a dirty look from the little girl. "She thought she lost it and couldn't wait until tomorrow to pick it up like Tsukino-san said."

"So instead of waiting like Mom said you should, you snuck out?" Sailor Moon was incredulous. "Kami-sama, I might be irresponsible sometimes, but I never sneak out unless it's for _Sailor Senshi_ business!"

"What's the problem?" Chibi-Moon asked.

"**THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOU SNUCK OUT!**" the golden-haired Sailor Senshi yelled.

"**BUT I HAD TO GET IT!**" the strawberry-blond-haired Sailor Senshi yelled back.

"It wouldn't've gone anywhere, Chibi-Moon," Makoto pointed out. "You or I _would've_ found it tomorrow." She hoped this would defuse the ensuing battle.

"This is a dangerous artifact. I just can't leave it lying around anywhere!"

"DON'T BE RUDE, YOUNG LADY," Sailor Moon commanded as she sprang to her friend's defense.

"Kino-san is Sailor Jupiter. I doubt she'd just let anybody walk off with it," Chibi-Moon's future father argued.

"Why are you guys making such a big deal over it?" the little girl demanded as she threw up her hands in disgust. "I've got it now. Can we just go home?"

"Because what you did was foolish. You should have listened to Tsukino-san."

"But Mamo-Tuxedo Kamen-sama, it's mine and... HEY!" The young Sailor Senshi let out a squawk as Sailor Moon plucked the magical key from her hand and held it out to her ponytailed friend. "GIVE THAT BACK!"

"No!"

"**IT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK!**"

"BE QUIET!" the tall brunette hissed. All three stared at her. In a more normal voice, she explained, "It's late and my neighbors might complain to the manager if you start arguing. How about us calling it a night? We can talk about it at school **tomorrow**."

"You're right and I'm sorry," her pigtailed friend agreed then bowed. "Gomen nasai, Makoto-san. Now would you keep this for Chibi-Moon please?" She held the Time Key out.

"But..."

"Yes, this is about _your_ butt," Sailor Moon indicated to Chibi-Moon. "You can either let Mako-chan keep your key until tomorrow or... We can go home and I'll tell Mom you snuck out of the house and I had to go after you."

"That's not fair!" Was the little girl's protest.

"Maybe not... but what are you going to do, young lady? Mom will phone Makoto tomorrow and see if you went by and got whatever you left here, ne?"

"I can use Luna-P," Chibi-Moon pointed out sulkily.

"NO!" Makoto winced as Sailor Moon's voice rose in a shout. The blonde gave her a guilty look and then continued in a quieter voice, "Listen, you have two choices, Chibi-Moon. Leave the Time Key here and pick it up tomorrow like Mom wanted, or you can take it now and I'll tell Mom that you snuck over here and disturbed Makoto AGAIN." She waited a heartbeat and added, "And if you even think about using Luna-P on Mom, I'll spank you myself!"

Chibi-Moon looked like she might explode. She stood there breathing hard for several seconds before turning to Tuxedo Kamen. "Tuxedo Kam... Father..." the child began in her best cute little girl voice as she clasped her hands together before her, "Please stop Sailor Moon from being so stupid!"

The young man rapidly considered his options and then decided to play a bluff. "Usagi Serenity, you are to listen to your mother. Now stop arguing, apologize to Kino-san, and then come along. It's time to go home."

The two older girls simply gaped at the tuxedo-clad man while the younger girl's shoulders slumped. She looked up hopefully at her hero in top hat and tails but he just looked sternly back. That sternness was only a facade. If Chibi-Moon didn't give in...

But she did. Sighing, the strawberry-blond child turned and said contritely, "Gomen. I am very sorry for disturbing you, Kino-oneesan. Please forgive me." She swallowed hard and bowed before adding, "Also, please keep my precious Time Key safe until I'm able to come again get it."

"Arigato, Chibi-Usa-chan. I promise to keep it safe for you."

Sailor Moon nodded in satisfaction and gave the magical object to her brown-haired friend. She then turned, took Chibi-Moon by the arm, and marched her to the balcony door. "Goodnight, Mako-chan. Sorry for all this."

"Safe trip home!"

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief when Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi-Moon, and Tuxedo Kamen finally left her apartment. 'Great, I'm wide-awake now.' She looked down at the sparkling Time Key in her hand. 'I'll make some tea and see if that'll settle me.'

# # # # #

Kino Makoto sat in her apartment curled on her couch, a mug of tea in one hand, and using the other to slowly turn the pages of the photo album that she'd shown Usagi and Chibi-Usa earlier that day. The brunette let out a long sigh and closed her eyes as she took another sip.

The headache that had developed during the fight between mother and daughter just a little while ago was easing but that just allowed her mind to wander. 'I cannot believe Chibi-Usa.' She reflected further, 'Why can't she appreciate being able to be so close to Usagi?' She knew a queen can't just be mother of her child but must also be mother of her realm. Makoto could not help but admire the woman that her ditzy friend would _someday_ become. That woman was willing to sacrifice her present happiness in Crystal Tokyo by sending her only daughter into the past so that her daughter could enjoy a life of anonymity and love. 'It was a wonderful gift that Neo-Queen Serenity gave Chibi-Usa. She doesn't see it. A chance at a normal life like Usagi always wanted. To be almost sisters. And what does that girl do? She squanders it on pettiness!'

The adolescent washed the bitter feeling she got with another sip of her green tea. She opened her eyes and looked down at the page before her. It was a photo of her parents and grandparents. It was taken not long after her parents had married.

She gently traced her parents' features and then her grandparents' on the photograph. 'If I had a Time Key of my own, I'd go back and tell them how much I appreciated them.' Makoto had done a poor job, or she felt she had. She loved her parents dearly. Nevertheless, at the time of their tragic deaths, she had a boundless spirit and was something of a tomboy, sometimes to her parents' distress. 'I was too young then to understand... If I had a key, I...'

Then it struck her. 'I do have one!' Her hand went to the breast pocket of her housecoat where she had placed the key that Usagi gave her to hold. Taking it out, she looked down at it in her hand. 'Do I dare?' Her last trip through the Gate of Time to say the least hadn't been much fun. 'But then, we had Chibi-Usa leading the way and a time traveling enemy...'

She gave it a moment more thought, staring at the photo. 'To go back and see them... I wouldn't interfere. I wouldn't tell them who I really was...' she promised herself as tempting as it would be. 'But to see them...' She took another sip of tea. 'It's decided.'

She gripped the Time Key tightly, closed the album gently, and put it aside. 'I'll do this... To see my parents one last time alive.'

She viewed this as the Fates gift to her and she wasn't going to waste it.

End of Chapter 2

Coming next in **Chapter 3 "Arriving Via Time Gate..."**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	3. Chapter 3 Arriving Via Time Gate

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 3 "Arriving Via Time Gate..."**

_Monday, May 9, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan <em>

**I**t was either very late or very early depending on how you viewed the time. The last sliver of the crescent Moon was partially obscured by one of the few clouds in the sky. Of the remaining panorama, all but the brightest stars were washed away by the light pollution of the huge metropolis that was Tokyo. In its Azuba-Juuban District of its Minato Ward at this late hour, the public park was dark and deserted except those few animals and unfortunate souls that called it their home. But none of these things bothered Sailor Jupiter as she made her way unnoticed through the park and towards the manmade lake near its center.

She yawned as she approached her destination and gave her head a shake. 'Just my luck. I decide on doing something late at night and I pick a school night!' She made a face. 'I'm gonna be majorly wiped out tomorrow...' She yawned again. She then remembered her interrupted sleep that evening. 'If this doesn't work out, maybe I'll just camp out here. At least, I'd get some peace and quiet until morning,' she thought facetiously. The teen paused in the shadows of a storage building adjacent to the dock.

It is said that Tokyo is a city that never sleeps but the Juuban District was in a relatively quiet area of the city. Sailor Jupiter regarded her surroundings carefully. In the background, she could hear the odd vehicle on the otherwise deserted roadway that bordered the park. Her head turned as she heard a siren and then caught the telltale flashing red lights of a fire truck before it whizzed out of sight. She lifted her head and watched a plane fly silently overhead. Its navigation lights could be mistaken for a star had it been stationary.

Her eyes lowered and fixed for a moment on the ever-present Tokyo Tower. The top half of its brilliantly lit structure could clearly be seen above the trees in the distance. It had been there since her earliest memories. She remembered the first time she had went up there; it had been with her grandmother. The memory made her chuckle. 'I was scared to up there but too proud to say I was!' She shook her head. Now was not the time to reminisce.

Taking out Chibi-Usa's Time Key from her subspace pocket, the Sailor Senshi of Jupiter examined the magical object carefully. She tried to envision what Chibi-Usa had said all those months ago to take them to the future. After a minute or so, she lifted it up and spoke, "Chronos-sama, show me the light that will guide me to the Time Gate!"

Nothing happened except the chirping of crickets and croaks of frogs. The _green_ Sailor Senshi glowered and thought harder about what she remembered of that day. It had been an important day in her life; the day that she and her friends had gone to the future with Chibi-Usa to rescue her mother. The day they saw their future selves in Crystal Tokyo.

'Maybe I'm not in the right place,' the Sailor of Jupiter speculated. After looking around once more, she walked further out onto the dock. Lifting the Time Key above her once again, she called out, "Oh Guardian of Time, hear me! I request the heavens tear open to show me the way!"

Again, there was nothing. 'This is stupid. Maybe I should just go home...' Disgusted, she sat down on the edge of the dock and frowned. She lay back, her feet dangling just above the quiet waters of the lake with her head cushioned on her arms.

'A giggle?' The sound was carried to her on the wind. A pair of lovers walked by her, not even noticing that a Sailor Senshi was less than 100 feet away. Jupiter sighed. 'If I had boyfriend, I'd probably out late too instead of... Enough of that...'

Relaxing, she steeled her thoughts. 'Okay Makoto, picture the day. We're at the park... and Chibi-Usa arrives. She lifts up her Time Key...' She lifted the key up as she had remembered seeing the little girl do. 'And then she said... And then she said...'

Sailor Jupiter sat up abruptly as the entirety of what Chibi-Usa had said abruptly came to her. "_Time Guardian! Tear apart the sky, and open the space-time door to me! I call the true name of the almighty god of time, the time guardian's father! Chronos-sama! Reveal to me the path of light!_"

Her eyes widened as she felt magic gathering around her. '**IT'S WORKING!**' Then suddenly, there was flash from the Key and the wind picked up. Jumping to her feet, she looked nervously around. The water in the shallow lake started to churn, the wind blew harder, and then a beam of pink light streaked downward from the heavens and widened until the Sailor Senshi of Jupiter was engulfed within its brilliant cone. An instant later, she was gone.

The water in the lake calmed, the wind died down, and after a few moments, the distant nighttime sounds of the city returned. Sailor Pluto and Luna stepped out of the shadows and out onto the dock together.

"Pluto, why did you let her go?"

"It was necessary," Sailor Pluto stated simply.

"Necessary?" the black lunar cat asked, "How could letting her go be necessary?" The Senshi of Time only smiled faintly.

# # # # #

_Saturday, May 9, 1942  
>Azuba-ku, Tokyo, Empire of Japan <em>

Hana-ichi lifted its head and regarded the odd-colored sky. The Shiba Inu watched as a pink cloud formed and a something fell from it. The something formed into the shape of a human and that human landed smack in the middle of the koi pond in its yard.

Getting up, the small canine (standing about thirty-five centimeters at the shoulder and weighing just over eight kilograms) trotted over to investigate the newcomer who was splashing about and acting very silly.

"Woof!" Hana-ichi commented, sticking its black and tan muzzle forward to sniff at the strangely dressed intruder. Said intruder froze for a moment staring at the dog and then tentatively reached her hand out toward the animal. "Woof..." Sailor Jupiter waited to see if the dog would attack her or not but after her hand was sniffed, she relaxed a little and relaxed even more when the dog's tail began to wag happily.

"Owie..." the Jovian Senshi complained as she crawled out of the koi pond on he hands and knees dripping wet. "Eew!" she grumbled as some green slime (algae) touched her bare skin. Once out, she rubbed her bottom. "That hurt!" She was distracted from her bruises as Hana-ichi jumped up, putting her paws on her bosom and started licking her face. "Hahaha! No, girl, stop! Heee... that tickles!" She didn't have any problems fending the dog off. 'Just great... Now I have slimy water and doggie drool all over me!' She stood up.

Looking around, she frowned. She was in someone's (not her parents') backyard. Jupiter realized that she'd landed in that someone's koi pond. Nevertheless, that observation didn't explain exactly where or more importantly, when she was. "It's daylight though..." she mused and then rhetorically asked the dog, "Your family's at work, ne?"

"Woof!" was the animal's reply as it put its paws on her wet legs.

The statuesque Sailor Senshi quickly looked about the backyard. The lawn was neatly trimmed. The house appeared to be of an old-fashioned wooden construction. Hana-ichi whined, its tail still wagging. The canine dropped down and brought a ball over to its new friend.

"Sorry, girl, can't stay to play," Jupiter apologized. She backed up then paused. She'd been about to leap on to the wall. 'But if I really am in the past, then no one's ever heard of Sailor Senshi. And people get nervous enough as it is... Better not chance it...' She reversed her transformation - a fortunate byproduct of which caused her wet Senshi uniform to be replaced with her dry civilian garb.

"I love being a Senshi! But they wouldn't understand," Makoto told the dog. "I wonder if it's spring here too?" She glanced at the plants and other foliage about the yard trying to confirm her observation and then snickered. 'Look at me being all Ami-ish.' She shook her head. 'I'm here to see my parents, not to do botanical research.' As the Shinba Inu nudged her, she bent and stroked the small dog's fur coat. "I don't think this is my parents' house, girl..."

She concentrated in thought about that for a few moments as she pet the dog. She was trying to see if anything looked familiar. Nothing really did. "Oh well..." the teenager decided and stood up, "Time to get looking." She turned towards the back wall.

Hana-Ichi whined, glanced at the house, and then back at Makoto. "Sorry, girl, time I was motoring along," she said apologetically. With a running jump, she easily scrambled to the top of the wall. On the other side of the wall was a narrow cobblestone street. She frowned looking up and down the street. Seeing no one and with one last look at her canine friend, the ponytailed teen slipped down to the tiny deserted street.

Hana-ichi whined again; everybody was leaving her today.

# # # # #

'Where am I?' Makoto continued to wonder as she walked down the narrow street, almost a lane. 'And it's so... quiet.' She couldn't hear any traffic that should be around this time of day. She could hear other sounds though - a radio playing, its sound almost indistinguishable. She passed another house and heard a baby crying. She stopped at the end of the small lane and looked about - more houses. 'I don't recognize the skyline from here...'

The teenager paused and considered her options. 'I need to find something I recognize and then I can hunt down my parents.' Something occurred to her then making her giggle. 'Depending on the year, I might be around...'

She wrinkled her nose as the breeze brought a foul smell to her nostrils. "Gah, what is that?" She wasn't sure but it stank. The brunette pinched her nose and continued walking down the lane. She ducked across the connecting street and entered an even narrower lane where an oden bar was tucked into one of the buildings.

'Huh...' Makoto did a double-take as she trotted past. 'Their prices are _majorly_ cheap. They can't be making any money.' Then it struck her. 'Mom and Dad said that prices were a lot less when they were young.' She was relieved that she'd gotten away from the smell but she was disturbed by the quietness. It wasn't completely silent but she hadn't seen a single automobile or heard anything like a siren or horn.

She stopped at an intersection and considered which direction to go. "Am I even in Tokyo?" That spoken question pointed her in the direction she would go. 'I can't just wander the streets... Time to do a little roof-hopping!' she decided and looked for a secluded place to transform.

After locating a small-secluded niche created out of three buildings abutting each other, the busty teen lifted her transformation wand, and spoke the very familiar phrase, "JUPITER STAR POWER! MAKE UP!"

She felt the familiar magic surround her. One moment, she was Kino Makoto; the next, she was the Pretty Suited Sailor Soldier, Sailor Jupiter! She was thankful her uniform was crisp and pristine as always, not soaking wet. Surveying the area, she looked straight up, judged her target, and leapt.

# # # # #

Once on the roof, Sailor Jupiter scanned the skyline. 'Huh, wrong direction, so...' She looked for the sun. Using it, she figured that way was east, and then turned in the direction she expected the Tokyo Tower to be. But she didn't find it! 'Okay so it's...' the ponytailed teen thought, glancing at her watch and snorting, 'Yeah right... As if that'll do me any good. Probably mid-morning sometime.' She turned again to where she thought the large structure should be. But again, there was nothing. In the distance, she could see a cluster of tall smokestacks belching yellow-black smoke.

Shaking her head, the Jovian Senshi intently stared while slowly pivoting. She was looking for any familiar building or landmark. Five minutes later, she was wondering in what part of Tokyo she was.

'Kami-sama!' Sailor Jupiter nearly panicked, 'Where's the Tokyo Tower? Where are all the skyscrapers? It's got to be there!' She stood on the rooftop of a building near her arrival point and slowly turned scanning the horizon for any clue, any sign of the world famous landmark. Deciding she needed a better vantage point, she looked for the tallest building she could see and made for it, bounding over the rooftops. 'Maybe this isn't Tokyo? Either that or I'm out in the boonies.'

As she went, the magical girl tried to recall if her parents had ever lived outside of Tokyo. 'I know Dad's family is from the country near Gunma... Maybe this is Gunma...' She made a face, her aunt and uncle, who were technically her legal guardians, still lived in Gunma Prefecture but she hadn't visited them there since she was a small child. 'This city is too big to be anywhere near where my dad's parents lived.' She continued roof-hopping, still heading for the tallest building, not counting industrial chimneys, she could spot. She reached a nearby three-story structure that she took for a hotel.

Finally reaching the rooftop of the building she'd been aiming for all along, she spent a few seconds collecting her wits and then did a careful survey of her surroundings. 'This is Tokyo, but it's not Tokyo...' She finally concluded after some twenty minutes of careful observation and what she had already discovered. 'I recognize some things but not others.' For example, she found Hikawa Shrine. Remarkably, the buildings and grounds were little changed but neither Rei nor Grandpa Hino was there. Nor were there the normal groups of junior high and high school students buying charms for love or good test scores. The neighborhood surrounding it was unfamiliar. It was all houses and small buildings, none more than three stories high.

Using the shrine as a reference, she headed for the park and the lake from where she departed. Much to the teenager's confusion there was no park let alone a lake. There were several single-family dwellings and small farms. She overlaid a mental map of the park and worked her way towards where the docks would have been if they had existed and found herself in a familiar lane. Just to check she had her bearings right, Makoto peeked over a fence. She saw Hana-ichi wagging its tail and barking happily.

'Bloody hell...' Makoto thought. She backtracked to the shrine. She confirmed with the priest that it was indeed Hikawa Shrine. He asked if he could help her since she seemed troubled. She thanked him and left. Makoto wasn't sure how she felt when she saw the outline of Mt. Fuji about 100 kilometers distant, exactly where it should be. 'But if Fuji-sama is there... And the shrine is here... Where the hell is Tokyo Tower? Am I in some kind of alternate timeline?' It definitely was not 1990 Tokyo that she had been aiming for.

Her initial instinct was to use the Time Key and flee. 'But first... I want to look around!' She knew she should return to her time but her curiosity was piqued. She just had to take a quick look around. 'This place looks so different!'

That thought was driven out of her mind as something suddenly occurred to her. 'Wait a minute! If the Tower is gone AND this is Tokyo, then it has to be sometime before... Kami-sama... 1958!' Every Tokyo schoolchild knew the Tower's history. 'Let's see... It's say 1955... Which means **my grandparents are still alive!** I could go see them and see Mom as a little girl. I bet she was... is kawaii.' She smiled widely. 'But...' she chewed her lip, 'How do I find them?'

A little more reflection made the brown-haired teen realize that she would have to do some more research. Since she couldn't do it from the rooftops and as Sailor Senshi tended to draw undue attention even in her own time, she decided it would be prudent to detransform into her civilian guise. She looked for a place with some privacy to do it.

She walked around the edge of the rooftop until she located a deserted alleyway below her on the east side. After a moment of fighting nerves, she dropped down. A minute later, fifteen year old Kino Makoto, dressed once again in blue jeans, tennis shoes, pink blouse, and a red jacket walked casually out of the alleyway. She looked up and down the relatively quiet street and headed for a more populated area, keeping her eye out for a newsstand of some sort.

'The city sounds different, looks different even...' She sniffed. 'It even smells different!' She couldn't get over the fact that this Tokyo was so different from her own time. 'I know parking's expensive. I mean when I first saw Mamoru with a car, I nearly flipped, but I thought there would be more cars around in the past.' To legally own a car in Tokyo, not only did you need to prove you knew how to drive it but also you had to prove you had a place to safely park it. Usagi was so lucky.

What few cars she'd seen were large, boxy, dully painted, and belched smoke. Makoto couldn't help but stare as a truck came edging down the street she was on. It didn't look like any truck she'd ever seen except in really old movies or photographs.

As she walked, Makoto tried not to gape. Everything was so old and yet familiar at the same time. There was a noticeable absence of young men. Many of the men that were there were wearing military uniforms. There were no televisions, modern cars, or modern shops to be seen. The teenager couldn't help but think about her grandmother's complaints about how Tokyo had changed during her lifetime. Makoto had never really understood what her grandmother had meant by "change" but she was seeing it firsthand.

In one street, the brunette stopped dead in her tracks and stared at a goat. 'What the hell?' Makoto wondered as the goat stared back at her. 'They let farm animals wander the city?' A boy came out and glared at her as if she was going to take his goat or something. Shrugging, she continued walking.

'There's more kids out and about. I wonder if it's a school holiday or something... and they don't look real, like it was some movie set of the past or something.' She snickered at her own thinking.

Makoto was trying to imagine her own Tokyo superimposed over this one. And then the Crystal Tokyo of Neo-Queen Serenity's time superimposed over that image. She had to shake her head ruefully. 'Things change but stay the same.'

She was so intent on examining the unfamiliar surroundings that the ponytailed teen didn't realize she was drawing strange looks of her own. She paused in her brisk walk to admire a kimono-clad woman coming down the street. The woman's pace slowed as she neared Makoto and after a moment, the woman crossed over to the other side of the street. Makoto watched her. She admired the intricate design and pattern on the back of the kimono for a moment before continuing. 'I bet that cost her some serious yen.' She failed to notice that the woman was also watching her as well; so intently in fact, that she stumbled and fell.

# # # # #

Makoto slowed her pace a little and tried to observe where she was going rather than what was around her as she entered a busier section. 'Looks like a shopping district,' she guessed as she read the various signs over the establishments. None of them was electronic. There were no familiar English words or Western brands or logos on them. No familiar convenience stores or supermarkets. 'I wonder...' She slowed as she came near a group of people who were clustered around something. As she got closer, she could see that they were standing outside a shop, and beside the counter on a table was a radio. It was huge!

Stopping just behind the group of people, she cocked her head to listen. It seemed there was some sort of news broadcast. "_...Navy Department proudly announces the sinking of the American Aircraft Carrier __USS Lexington__ and numerous other ships and aircraft during our victory in the Corral Sea. This the day after the American General __Wainwright__ surrendered all Allied forces in the Philippines to the Imperial Forces under the command of General __Masaharu Homma__. This victory once again demonstrates the overwhelming superiority and invincibility of the Japanese Imperial Army. His Majesty the Emperor and Prime Minister __Hideki Tojo__ congratulate our naval and armed forces on their splendid victories._"

The fifteen year old was taken aback. 'What?' she wondered her eyes widening, 'This can't be...' She stood there stunned. An older man turned, meaning to leave, but collided with Makoto, who staggered. His hand reached out automatically to help her only to stop midway to her as he finally took in whom he'd collided with.

"Gomen nasai," he mumbled. He slipped past her and hurried off down the street. Others looked at her with the same sort of expression. It was a mixture of fear, puzzlement, and suspicion. She shook herself and took a step towards the shop's doorway. She was intent on getting some answers only to stop short when her foot crunched on something. Looking down to the ground, Makoto spotted what she'd been looking for, a discarded newspaper.

Picking it up, she tucked it under her arm and walked away, trying to appear as casual as possible. 'Is this really during the War? Or have I stumbled into some alternate universe?'

She didn't know and kicked herself for not paying better attention in history class. 'Well, Makoto, you need to find out. And then decide what, if anything, you're going to do about it!' She wanted to find an out of the way location and read the paper. Tucking the newspaper under one arm, she started walking. After a few blocks, she ducked into an alley. As she started scanning the paper, fixating on the date for several seconds, several questions scampered through Makoto's mind. 'Why were those people staring at me though?' She considered it for a moment. 'My height probably.' Although she knew it was just as likely her bust. 'Hentai!'

# # # # #

Kino Makoto had only intended at glancing at the date on the newspaper. She was glad that she'd chosen to do so out of sight of public scrutiny. The newspaper confirmed what the radio announcer had led her to believe, she had arrived during World War II. Early May of _Showa 17_ (1942) according to the newspaper. She continued to read the rest of the paper with a mixture of horror and disgust. Horror because she couldn't quite grasp the fact that she had so badly overshot the time she had sought. Disgust at the blatant propaganda and outright lies that thin set of pages espoused as gospel. She wanted to yell the truth to everyone but she suppressed the urge.

Nevertheless, with all hope of meeting her parents shattered, she wanted to leave, and leave quickly. She did not want to get involved in the War. What if she somehow prevented her grandparents from meeting? It was a lose-lose proposition. 'Time to go!' The decision made and after checking to make sure she wasn't observed, she got out the Time Key and lifted it into the air. She drew a breath, sent a prayer to the heavens, and spoke the activation phrase.

'Come on!' she pleaded silently as she stood there, her arm raised and peering intensely at the sky, 'Come on!' But no pink light sent the heavens to pour down in a cone to lift her up. She lowered the Key and scowled at it. 'Stupid time to go on a coffee break!' she thought at it. After a few moments, she lifted it again ran over the activation sequence. "Maybe I said something wrong..." The brunette ran over the long activation phrase in her mind three times before lifting the magical key up and speaking it aloud. Frustratingly, it didn't work.

"You picked a fine time to go fishing!" she grumbled at it. She stuffed it back in her subspace pocket. "I'll look around for a bit and try later on. Maybe when it catches the big one..." Still annoyed, she stepped back out into the street and watched as an army truck full of soldiers rolled by. The driver slowed and stared at her until an unseen voice pulled his attention back to the road. Shaking her head, the ponytailed teen set off down the street.

'Now let's see,' Makoto considered, 'I'm not much for plans but... if I could remember where Obaa-chan worked, I could go and look.' She knew her grandmother (like most young women of the time) worked at some plant making something during the War. 'I've seen pictures of her when she was young.' After a minute or so of rummaging through her memories, the girl couldn't remember her grandmother mentioning any specifics other than working long hours and living away from her parents. 'And I can't just go around asking, that'd look suspicious.'

She hadn't gone very far when her stomach rumbled. She covered it and looked embarrassed. 'I haven't eaten since dinner... With the prices around here, I should eat like a queen.' She fished out her wallet checking to see how much money she had and then froze. She giggled, startling a droopy-eyed elderly man with a ring of fluffy white hair around his head.

'What am I doing?' Makoto thought as she replaced her wallet, 'My money wouldn't be any good here...' She knew that much about history. Her stomach rumbled again. 'Geez, you're sounding like Usagi's...' She jumped slightly as she felt someone touching her sleeve. Her green eyes turned and she watched as the old man fingered her jacket sleeve.

"Nice material," he commented and then gave her a gap-toothed grin.

"Uh..." she began but stopped, not sure what to say. He looked up at her, patted her arm, and then turning walk away. As he did so, she heard him muttering something about Kabuki Theater.

'Now that was just strange...' She shrugged. 'I'll check out where the other girls live and then try the Key again.'

# # # # #

Itsuki Natsumi scrubbed her face to try and remove some of the grime. It was lunchtime. She had an hour before the second half of her shift. She would be glad when it was over so she could get back to the dormitory, take a bath, and get out of the "_boy's clothes_" she had to wear when working at the factory. The teenager smiled at one of her more energetic friends as they jogged by her. She wasn't physically tired although working at the factory was exhausting by the end of her fourteen-hour shift. Now she was heart sore and worried, which would drain even the strongest person.

The almost eighteen year old had brown hair, green eyes, and was of an average build although in the past few years, she'd taken on an underfed look. She was letting her feet guide her as her mind returned to the topic of her heart, i.e. her fiancé who was off fighting for the Emperor in the War.

While she had received few letters from him since he joined the Imperial Navy, she was both proud and worried about him being at sea. What would happen though if his ship came across the Americans or their allies? Part of her knew she was being silly. Still, as good as the Navy was, sometimes the Americans got lucky. After a moment, Natsumi shook herself and started moving a little faster. 'If I move any slower, I will stop!' she thought with a grin, 'I'd like some tea and perhaps a couple nikuman [steamed pork buns].' Her stomach agreed with the idea of food. She still had a long shift still ahead.

# # # # #

Kino Makoto was frustrated. She had spent about an hour wandering around Tokyo of the 1940s before trying the Time Key for a second time. Again, nothing had happened. 'It's around noon,' she guessed. She'd been accosted by some youths who seemed to think she was a man playing the part of a woman. Their comments inferred that she was a rather ugly looking one at that.

The tall brunette had nearly committed murder when one of them groped her frontage to see if it was real or not. 'I mustn't hurt them,' Makoto had thought as she ran away from them. 'They might be one of my friend's ancestors.' She could have beaten them up without breaking a sweat. Still, the encounter had not helped her sour mood and the recent failing of the Time Key had plunged her spirits even lower. 'Will I be stuck here?'

Therefore, she was not paying very much attention as she stepped out of an alleyway and ran smack into someone.

"Ah!" the person, a girl exclaimed, turning as the sudden assault. She gripped Makoto's jacket and for an instant, they teetered on the brink of falling. Makoto though shifted her weight and steadied the young lady before her. "Gomen nasai."

Makoto's hands froze on the teenager's shoulders as one set of green eyes met another set. She blinked and then stared into the young face. One that she'd only seen in old photographs.

She was staring into the face of her grandmother!

End of Chapter 3

Coming next in **Chapter 4 "Beam Me Up, Pluto!"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	4. Chapter 4 Beam Me Up, Pluto!

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

The _Old Story Revamp Project_ on **ShoujoFiction(dot)com** is complete. Over 60 of our stories! It was a great opportunity to reread our stories during this months-long effort to fix spelling/grammar errors that we missed the first time around as well as update the HTML formatting to improve readability including the addition of chapter anchors and hyperlinks for some less obvious references. Some stories I barely remembered their plots. :)_ Tales of Younger Senshi Series_ and _World of Velaria_ resources and their supporting pages were also updated.

And now on with Chapter 4...

**Chapter 4 "Beam Me Up, Pluto!"**

_Saturday, May 9, 1942  
>Azuba-ku, Tokyo, Empire of Japan <em>

**F**or one wild moment, Makoto thought that her friend Usagi had somehow followed her into the past. The statuesque teen couldn't think of anyone else who routinely ran into her. Instinctively, she reached out and caught "_Usagi's_" wrist to steady her as she stumbled backwards.

'Not Usagi... He's just a kid,' Makoto quickly noted. The other person's reaction was definitely not Usagi-like. In fact, judging by the style of clothing her assailant was wearing and his size, it was some beggared boy who'd ran into her. His grubby coveralls hung loosely on his petite frame and he stood at least six inches shorter than she did. This "_boy_" who she guessed he was maybe twelve years old had similar build and stature to her pigtailed friend. His grime-smudged face, kerchief tied about the head, and lack of facial hair supported her conclusion.

In the meantime, Itsuki Natsumi was aware that she was staring but she couldn't help it. 'She has to be a woman...' Natsumi kept repeating to herself even as her eyes told her no woman be would be so tall. At least, very few women she'd ever seen were. The fact that the twentyish looking brown-haired figure that she'd collided into was wearing boy's clothing did nothing to assuage her confusion. On the other hand, there were obvious womanly traits that pretty much quashed any chance that her unintended victim was remotely male, e.g. the taller girl wore her hair (the same color as her own) in a feminine style and had a quite enviable bustline. She blushed. "Gomen nasai, onee-san," the boyish looking teenager finally spoke up while bowing, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

The busty brunette's eyes widened at the voice. It wasn't a boy's, not even a prepubescent one; it was a girl's! As that thought trickled into her brain, Makoto started to notice other features. The face was soft, feminine and the hit of a bustline. "You're a girl?" The question blurted out of her before she could censor it.

"Hai." Natsumi looked down and giggled. "'Though I certainly don't look like one wearing this, ne onee-san? I'm Itsuki Natsumi."

'That's a coincidence... Obaa-chan was named Natsumi too...' she mused. Then Makoto felt a jolt go through her. 'Kami-sama, it can't be...' She peered at the smaller girl before her. Inviting green eyes like hers - softer and less wrinkled facial features tugged at her memory. Brown hair (something she and her mother obvious inherited from her) stuck out of the kerchief. It too seemed to match the color photographs that Makoto had seen of her grandmother before she turned gray. 'And wasn't Obaa-chan's maiden name Itsuki?' She hated herself for not remembering.

"Are you all right?" Natsumi asked in a definite girlish voice breaking the awkward silence to the taller girl in front of her. Said girl continued staring at her in disbelief. "I'm terribly sorry, onee-san!" she jabbered then bowed for a second time. Seeing the confused look.

"Ob..." the visitor from the future swallowed, "Itsuki-san, is it?"

"Hai! I'm Itsuki Natsumi, age seventeen."

The time traveler felt her world slide sideways. 'My... grandmother?' Makoto shook herself like a dog and then bowed in return. "Gomen nasai, ob-onee-san." It was strange to call her own grandmother "_onee_" but it was definitely appropriate given their current ages. Its use seemed to confuse her grandmother though. She continued, "I wasn't watching where I was going." She straightened and smiled. "I'm Ki..." she started before thinking better of it, "I'm _Tsukino Usagi_, age fifteen!"

"Nani? Fifteen! You can't be!" the smaller teen protested. 'She must mean nineteen.' There was no way that this tall, well-endowed "_girl_" was even younger than she was! Makoto though was shaking her head slowly in denial, which only served to puzzle her. 'Why is she denying it? Did I hit her head?' There was something though. 'She seems so vulnerable.' "It was my fault, onee-sa..." 'Better humor her.' "I mean Tsukino-san..."

'Obaa-chan doesn't believe I'm younger than her.' The brunette mentally grimaced. 'And it's not like I can whip out my birth certificate or anything!'

"I was letting my mind wander and..." She stopped talking as Makoto's stomach growled.

'Oh man... my stomach sounds like Usagi's at lunchtime,' she worried embarrassingly.

"Gomen. I bet you were heading to lunch. Why don't I buy you some tea? I've got nearly an hour before I have to get back to the plant for the rest of my shift."

Both were startled when someone called out, "Bring her back with you, Natsumi-chan!" The duo turned to find a similarly dressed young woman in the middle of the street. "She's big enough the five of us could go on break every hour!" Natsumi blushed.

"Mai-chan!" the smaller teen protested, "Don't be rude!" She turned to her future granddaughter and explained, "Mai always wants to get out of working." 'Though maybe this girl is looking for a job.' Then wanting to change the subject, she added, "Please, Onee... Tsukino-san, I know a spot close by where we can buy some tea."

"Oh I couldn't..." the ponytailed brunette began to protest before her stomach growled again.

The future grandmother snorted and commented, "Your stomach has sense if you don't. Come and let me make it up to you, Tsukino-san?" She gave Makoto a pleading look.

The pleading look changed to a smile when the tall brunette accepted. "Hai, you talked me into it. Please call me Usagi." Saying it again made her wish that her grandmother could have known the real Usagi. "And I really AM fifteen and in my third year of junior high..." Makoto had to resist the urge to hug the smaller girl. Instead, she held out her hand. "I'm very happy to meet you, Itsuki-san."

# # # # #

Ten minutes later, the two teens found themselves seated on a wooden bench outside a small teashop eating mitarashi dangos (Japanese dumplings) and sipping tea.

Makoto was trying hard not to breathe through her nose. Natsumi's selected teashop was downwind from what smelled akin to a manure pile although the other inhabitants of the shop didn't seem to notice the foul odor. Obviously environmental rules were different in the past. She watched Natsumi eat from her bento box using her chopsticks in a dainty lady-like fashion.

"I still can't believe you're _younger_ than me," Natsumi remarked after swallowing a mouthful of her lunch. "I thought for sure you... I mean I thought you were playing a trick on me!" Makoto only shook her head to indicate she was sincere. "So where do you come from, Tsukino-san?"

"Please call me Usagi, onee-san." Makoto paused in her chewing and then took a long sip of tea to buy herself some time. "I'm from Tomoeda..." she answered.

"Tomoeda...?" Natsumi remarked while tapping her lower lip with her dangos. "I'm sorry to say that I've never heard of that place, Usagi...chan." She looked for approval. "Natsumi." She normally wouldn't get familiar so quickly with a stranger. There was something about this girl though that she couldn't place her finger on. More than just her odd dress and behavior.

'Of course not, Obaa-chan. It's a fictional place out of an anime series!' the teen from the future thought. "It's a small town, Natsumi-san," she explained with a grin. "I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it." She took another sip of tea and then asked, "You seemed to be lost in thought when we met... Wanna share?"

The smaller teen frowned. "Wanna?"

"Er... Gomen... Want," the fifteen year old corrected, her ears turning slightly pink. "I mean... were you thinking about a boy?"

Natsumi blushed prettily and her granddaughter couldn't help but admire how despite the boyish clothing and the tired expression on her face, all her worries seemed to melt away when she smiled. "Oh that... I was thinking of my Hiroke. He's my fiancé," the smitten seventeen year old explained proudly. She blushed a little at her brashness and looked away. "I got a letter from him yesterday. I was so surprised! The mail is very fast. It only took _five_ weeks!" That had to bode well for the Empire.

"That must have been nice."

"Oh yes, Usagi-chan. He said he hopes the War to be over soon so that he can marry me. He proposed to me just before he left," Makoto's future grandmother gushed. "I do wish the War was over... I know we are having great victories but I still worry about him." She regarded the tall teen beside her. "Do you have someone you care about?"

"I did..." Makoto admitted. "He... Well... Things happened and it didn't work out."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," the young woman remarked but assumed, 'Aha! So she was married and her husband died in the War. That's why she's pretending to be younger - to find a new husband! I won't spoil it for her, poor girl.' "You'll find someone special again."

Makoto carefully wiped her fingers and then asked, "So... Ob..." She coughed and felt her cheeks turning slightly pink. 'Now I know how Chibi-Usa feels about this future relative stuff.'

"Are you all right, Usagi?" Then she mused sadly, 'I hope the War will be over soon so we don't have to worry about losing husbands... or husbands-to-be.'

The busty teen nodded and thumped her chest a couple of times before saying, "Um... I mean so where is Hiroke?"

"Oh!" Natsumi said her face lighting up. She reminded Makoto of her friend Usagi in that respect when she talked about Mamoru. "Hiro-chan is bravely serving the Emperor aboard ship! This is Hiroke." She smiled and pulled out a black-and-white photograph of a young man wearing the dress uniform of a Sailor Third Class. "That's why I was so surprised about the letter's quick arrival." She smiled. "He wanted to join the Army but his father convinced him to join the Navy instead." She let out a sigh. "I'm so proud of him... I do wish... I know it's wrong of me but..."

"But?" Makoto prompted as her future grandmother hesitated. Her head turned, as did many of the other street's occupants, at the sound of an engine. She suspected a military truck but turned out to be a car that turned onto the street.

"Well, Usagi-chan, I do wish that Hiroke had been in the Army. I mean we might have been able to get married when he was home on leave. But since he's at sea... He didn't want to marry me and then risk leaving me a widow, even if it's only a slight chance." She regarded the teen from the future. "But he promised we'll marry once the War is over."

"I'm sure he will, Natsumi-chan," the younger teen assured her while patting the elder teen's hand. "I bet he'll come home and hug and kiss you." That thought seemed to both scandalize and please the petite seventeen year old.

"I shouldn't keep worrying like this but I do! So many others have far more to bear." 'Like you, Usagi.'

"I can understand that." The fifteen year old chuckled as the local pack of street urchins came over to investigate the car. "I bet you and Hiroke will have children."

"That would be nice..." was the wistful remark before it was spoiled by Natsumi saying, "But it's not if he just dies, Usagi-chan. It's... It's... What if he's horribly injured, like burned?" The elder brunette shuddered. "It's such a terrible thought. What if the enemy finds him by accident?"

"Don't worry, Natsumi-chan, he won't be burned," Makoto stated with absolute certainty. "He's gonna live. He'll have a limp after he's rescued off the Akagi but I doubt he'll have worse than that." She was thinking about what her grandmother had told her about her grandfather's war service. How after the War, he had a limp and it would bother him, especially in damp or cold weather. She still had some of his memorabilia from his service on the Akagi. "He would've been okay if the Americans hadn't broken our code. It let them find his ship and..."

"Nani?" Natsumi voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Pardon?" the tall teen asked, turning to her future grandmother.

"What do you mean about the Americans breaking... What do you mean by code?" The older teen was looking worried now. "What do you know?"

Kino Makoto replayed the conversation over in her mind and winced. 'Damn it!' "N-Nothing, Ob-N-Natsumi, I'm just saying..."

"You must know something, Usagi!" Natsumi's voice was growing shrill, "You said that Hiroke was likely going to wind up with only a limp and it was because **the enemy finds his ship after they break the code!** How could you know that?"

The ponytailed teen glanced around and noticed that they were attracting undue attention. "Natsumi, I'm just trying to say that I don't think Hiroke would be burned given where he works on the ship."

"I never told you where he works or what ship he's on! I don't even know where he works!" Natsumi pointed out her suspicion and fear growing exponentially. "Who are you?" She stood up and started backing off. "Do you work for the Americans?"

'Oh bloody hell!' Makoto thought nervously and rose herself. She opened her mouth to try and calm the frightened young woman down but noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she spotted two men coming towards her. While they were dressed plainly enough, their posture and bearing screamed something completely different. It was their eyes that got the tall brunette running; they were cold and dangerous.

'Kempeitai (secret police),' Makoto guessed as she sprinted down the road. She could hear Natsumi shouting something and other bystanders raising the alarm as she hurtled past them. She could hear feet pounding behind her but she didn't look back. 'Damn! Damn! Damn! Way to cock this up!' Makoto worried and went around a corner vaulting over a fruit cart as if it was a hurdle. She risked a glance back and saw that the two men she'd spotted were chasing after her, though the fruit cart had slowed them some. 'Time to kick it in high gear!'

Ducking into an alleyway, she shouted, "JUPITER PLANET POWER... MAKE-UP!" And in a magical flash of light, Kino Makoto was no more. In her place, Sailor Jupiter ran down the alleyway at breakneck speed. She didn't break stride as she gathered herself for a leap. In a moment, she was atop the roof of the two-story building.

A solid minute of hurried roof-hopping had the Sailor Senshi easily outdistancing any pursuit. Nevertheless, she kept to the roofs out of sight as she considered her options. 'Okay, Makoto, you put your foot in it. You need to get out of here NOW!'

She paused, her mind whirling as she looked around. 'Okay think hard... Why did the Chibi-Usa's Key work in the future and not in the past?' She wasn't a brain like her friend Ami but a little serious consideration gave her an inspirational thought. 'I have to recreate my departure as closely as possible!'

# # # # #

Despite moving via the rooftops, Sailor Jupiter took half an hour in an evasive route to get back to the house where she had arrived. After carefully checking the street, she jumped from the roof of the house she was on down into the familiar backyard.

Hana-Ichi, who had been sniffing around the edge of the back wall, lifted its head, started to growl but then gave out a happy bark upon seeing the green-clad Sailor Senshi.

"Hey girl," Jupiter said to the dog, "I see you're still around." She patted the small dog for a moment and then carefully stepped into the koi pond. Hana-Ichi watched the silly human with interest, its tail wagging as it did so.

"I hope this works," she told her canine observer and taking out the Time Key lifted it into the air. Taking a deep breath, she spoke the activation phrase clearly and distinctly.

At first, nothing happened and then a pink cloud formed. And a beam of pink light shot from the heavens and enveloped Sailor Jupiter who was holding her breath. 'Please let this work!' she prayed, 'Please let this work!' As she began rising into the sky, Hana-Ichi began to bark.

"Sorry, girl, this isn't Peter Pan or I'd take you with me!" the Jovian Senshi called down to the dog as she rose into the air and then in between one heartbeat and the next, she vanished from 1942 Japan.

# # # # #

_Monday, May 9, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

A black cat with a golden crescent moon sigil sat patiently at the end of the dock by the lake in the middle of the park and looked towards the Moon. 'Where is she?' Luna wondered, her tail swishing back and forth, 'Why did Pluto tell me to come out here in the middle of the night to meet Sailor Jupiter? Shouldn't she be in bed?' She sighed, lowered her gaze to the water, and then shifting began a long stretch. 'I don't know why the Guardian of Time can't be a little more specific, at least with...' She froze in mid-stretch as waves of strong magic crashed over her senses. She looked upwards and saw a pink cloud forming. 'What...' But the thought broke off as a figure fell from the sky and impacted the lake's tranquil surface with enough force to cause a momentary waterspout.

Moments later, a very wet, very agitated Sailor Jupiter surfaced and after looking around to get her bearings, she started swimming for the dock. "What on earth have you been up to?" the feline demanded as a soaked Sailor Jupiter heaved herself up onto the dock. The black lunar cat backed up to avoid getting splashed. There was little worse in her view than wet fur.

"Nice to see you too, Luna," the ponytailed Sailor Senshi replied sarcastically as she reversed her transformation and reverted to dry (civilian) clothing again. "Gah! Why is it always water you land in when you use one of these things?" She looked down at the Time Key in her hand. 'I suppose it's better than landing on poor Mamoru.'

"What..." Luna began but stopped, "Are you all right, Makoto?"

"What? Oh yes," the fifteen year old answered and tucked the magical key into her jacket pocket before standing, "I'm fine, Luna... Were the Sailor Senshi out looking for me?" She hadn't considered how her disappearance in the middle of the night would worry her friends.

Luna's tail swished in agitation. "No. Usagi sent me over here to get Chibi-Usa's Time Key back."

"She couldn't wait until morning, ne?"

The black cat shrugged. "She got orders from Sailor Pluto." The teen grimaced but after a moment, retrieved the Time Key. She handed it to the lunar cat who tucked it away in a subspace pocket. "You know it's late, Makoto, and you have school tomorrow. We'll discuss your um... nocturnal adventure at the Shrine tomorrow."

"Gomen. What time is it anyway, Luna?"

"Nearly 1:30." Makoto let out a grown but nodded. "You ARE going home, ne?"

"Yes, I am," she indicated and set off through the park. As she did so, she drank in the sounds and sights of modern day Tokyo life. 'Looks like I didn't cause any problems!' she thought with relief. 'I'll never try that again.' She knew that Setsuna would make sure of that.

"Well, I'll just tag along to make sure!" the black lunar cat remarked. She started walking along the dock and paused. "Coming, Kino-san? Or are you going to take star readings until the sun comes up?"

"Hai..." Makoto said and turning walked along the dock and when she reached the lunar cat, she lifted Luna gently up to her arms. "Sorry, Luna... I'm just glad to be back. To my Tokyo."

# # # # #

"What is wrong with you?" the black feline demanded about five minutes later as Makoto stood and watched a fire truck go whizzing by, its lights flashing and its sirens wailing. "You'd think you never saw a fire truck before."

The ponytailed teen chuckled and continued walking. "It's not that, Luna," she began. "It's just... it confirms I'm in the right time." 'Thank Kami-sama.' She shrugged the shoulder that wasn't holding Luna. "And I'm tired and I just had a wild adventure."

"Yes, well if you hurry up and get home, you can go to bed. But if you're this tired, you're likely going to be exhausted and cranky come tomorrow," the cat lectured.

The teen picked up her pace and continued down the sidewalk. Luna was quiet for two more blocks but spoke up again when Makoto turned right. "Wait, Mako-chan! Where are you going?"

"Home," she replied. The teen stopped and gave her companion a confused look. "I live down this way."

"Go back and cross the street."

"But..."

"Please Makoto?" the black cat implored, "Maybe you're not as okay as you were claiming when we left the park." 'Maybe she hit her head on the bottom.' She'd ask Ami check Makoto out with her VR visor tomorrow just in case.

Confused but not willing to argue the point at this time of night, the brown-haired teen backtracked and then walked across the street when the light turned green. "I don't think this is the right way..." she muttered more to herself than Luna as she entered a district with single family dwellings. "Luna, my place isn't anywhere near here."

"We're almost home," Luna assured her friend.

'Home... She's taking me to Usagi's?' Makoto guessed. Nonetheless, even that didn't sound right because this certainly didn't look like Usagi's neighborhood. 'Did they move while I was gone?' She had to snort at that thought. 'Minako lives around here but it's not that either... Kami-sama, I'm just tired if I'm starting to think these crazy things.'

Still, the young woman couldn't shake the idea that her feline friend was leading her astray. 'Maybe this is where Setsuna is.' Well that would explain some things. 'I wonder...'

"Here we are!" Luna declared and hopped from the teen's shoulder.

"Where?" Makoto asked while regarding the closed front gate, "Here?"

The black cat nodded. "Go on, Mako-chan, I'll see you tomorrow."

More than a little dubious, the ponytailed girl pushed the gate quietly open, stepped into the front yard, and then closed the gate behind her. The house looked similar to Usagi's though its front yard had flowerbeds running along its walls. She was approaching the front door when it was flung open and a woman stood in the doorway, her features shadowed by the entryway light behind her.

"**WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, YOUNG LADY?**" a familiar voice hissed. Makoto stopped dead in her tracks and stared. She rubbed her eyes and then stared some more at the woman before her. "WELL?"

'It can't be...' Makoto thought as her brain tried to grapple with the fact that her mother, her long dead mother, was standing before her looking more than a little irate. "Mom..."

"**ANSWER ME, KINO MAKOTO!**" was the sharp and loud command, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

A high-pitched voice sang out from somewhere inside the house, "I bet it was Toya-chan!"

The woman who was a dead-ringer for her mother whipped around. "Go back to bed." The tall teen heard giggling and what sounded like the soft thudding of feet on stairs. Slowly, ever so slowly, the woman turned and somehow Makoto knew that this was indeed her mother. "Have you been with Taguchi Toya?"

"NO!" Makoto assured her. She didn't know anyone by that name. Still, she decided she had better offer something up. "M-Mom, I was at the park."

That got a derisive snort. "**Inside!**" was the command. "We'll discuss this in the morning!"

# # # # #

Five minutes later, Makoto was up in her bedroom. She sat on her bed and looked about the room. It was about the same size as Usagi's. It felt like her bedroom and in some respects even looked eerily like her bedroom she had in her apartment; in other respects, it didn't. And it was the things that were out of place that were making her brain spin. Not that seeing her long dead parents suddenly alive and angry after three years wasn't making her brain spin. Nonetheless, thinking about furnishings was easier than thinking about the people just down the hall from her.

'This is all a dream!' she told herself, 'That's it. I'll go to bed and wake up in the morning and be in my apartment.' She sighed and changed out of her clothes and into her pajamas. They too seemed familiar and were comfortable. She'd just slid her legs under the covers and was ready to turn off the lamp on her nightstand when she noticed her bedroom door open slightly.

The tall brunette frowned. She was wondering if it was her mother checking on her but a moment later, a small figure - small by Makoto's standards that is - entered the room.

It was a tween girl. She had long chestnut-colored hair that hung in ringlets down her back. As the heart-shaped face with obvious resemblance to the Kino clan turned towards Makoto, her gray eyes regarded its older occupant with amusement. She was dressed in a frilly pink nightgown with white lace around the collar and cuffs.

'Kawaii... She looks ten or eleven tops,' the Sailor Senshi of Jupiter mused as the girl came over and quietly sat down on the bed next to her. 'I wonder who...'

"I don't know who's more ticked off, Onee-chan, Mama or Daddy!" she declared with a giggle. And then in a lower tone of voice, she asked, "So... did you like get into a fight?"

"What? No!"

"So it WAS Toya!" The younger girl's tone was a mixture of longing and disgust.

"No, of course not. I wasn't out with a boy."

Realization seem to strike her. In almost a whisper, "Then it had to be _Sailor Senshi_ business, ne Onee-chan?"

Makoto stared at the girl, then feigned, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Mako-chan, give. This is me... Me, you're _bestest_ imouto, not some silly kid! You can tell me."

"Go to bed," Makoto told her. "It's late, I'm tired, and I don't want any more trouble." She wasn't sure if this would work or not but the preteen made a pouty face, hugged her, and then left the room quietly. "Yes, definitely a dream, a really weird realistic dream." She turned off the lamp and fell asleep.

End of Chapter 4

Coming next in **Chapter 5 "In My Dreams"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	5. Chapter 5 In My Dreams

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 5 "In My Dreams"**

_Monday, May 9, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

**B**EEP! BEEP! BEEP! Kino Makoto's hand shot out from under the covers and groped around for her alarm clock. It took her an agonizing 6.28 seconds to find it and another 3.72 seconds to shut it off. She grumbled as she retrieved her hand and snuggled it under the covers.

'Too early...' her mind complained, 'Tired... Am I sick?' She began mentally testing parts of her body to see if she could justify staying in bed while at the same time another part of her mind attempted to rationalize what had happened last night.

"Damn..." Makoto sighed as she realized there was no way that she could excuse staying home sick, especially after the Golden Week Break. "But I'm so tired..." She rolled to her back keeping her eyes closed. 'If I was sick though, Minako might try and nurse me again...' The teenager shuddered at the memory. 'That was one strange dream... Maybe I DID eat some of Minako's cooking yesterday.' That made her smile. 'Imagine me taking Chibi-Usa's Time Key and going to the past! As if Pluto would ever let such a thing happen!' She had to smirk at the thought. 'But why I dreamed about seeing Obaa-chan again after all this time...' She mentally shrugged. 'It must've been that photo album.'

Thoughts of the photo album reminded her once again of the strawberry-blond child. 'I think for all the ruckus Chibi-Usa caused, no sweets from me for a month would be an appropriate punishment.' Almost immediately, she felt guilty. 'I suppose that wouldn't be right even though the kid did wake me up out of a sound sleep. I mean I'm not her mom... Usagi is.'

"_Mom..._" The word slipped out into the stillness of her bedroom. 'Oh that was majorly weird. Imagine me getting scolded by Mom for coming in past curfew.' Such a thing had never happened in her life. Sure, it had happened to Usagi and Minako by their respective parents. In contrast, Makoto had been just a kid when her parents were still alive; she wouldn't have thought about staying out late without their permission. 'And me having an imouto!' She chuckled then mused, 'It would've been nice having a sister... I'd be able to share so much with her.' The brown-haired teen knew that she could and did share plenty with her fellow Sailor Senshi; they were truly great friends whom she loved. Nevertheless, it would have been something special to have a sister of her own - real family. 'Enough of that. I'd better get up and get...'

BANG!

The tall teen's eyes flew open as she jerked upwards, prepared to defend herself against Eudial's latest Daimon, only to freeze when she realized that she wasn't in her bedroom nor even her apartment! "Where the hell...?"

"Mama says haul your lazy butt out of bed now!" Makoto's head whipped around in the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened as they fastened onto a girl wearing an elementary school sailor style uniform with a red and white motif. The girl appeared preteen with gray eyes and chestnut-colored hair hanging past her shoulder blades.

"Eh..."

"Come on, Onee-chan," she implored. "You don't want Mama coming up after you! She's like still POed about last night."

"You're..." The teenager paused, not quite able to wrap her mind around the fact that the girl before her was the same one that had, in her dream, claimed to be her little sister.

"Are you okay, 'Nee-chan?" The strange girl's tone had changed to worry. "You don't look so good." 'Did she break up with Toya last night?'

Before Makoto could respond to her, another voice, one that made pain and longing flash through the teen's heart, could be heard calling up the stairs. "Chiyo? Is Makoto up yet?"

"Hai!" Chiyo called and then gave her older sister a pleading look.

"Chiyo?" the Sailor Senshi of Jupiter tried the name out as if tasting a new food.

"Nani?"

"N-Nothing, g-go on so I can get dressed," Makoto requested somewhat shakily and was relieved when the youngster giggled and bounded out of the room. She got up, crossed the room, and closed the door. Then the pajama-clad fifteen year old then turned and leaned her back against it while slowly scanning the bedroom. 'This is just like what I dreamed... It can't be though... I must still be asleep.' She pinched herself to test that hypothesis. "Ouch... that hurt."

'So I'm not dreaming. But what happened...' The thought trailed off for a moment and then she completed it aloud, "**Oh Kami-sama! I DID go back to the past!**"

That realization was driven completely out of her mind when her gaze came to rest on the junior high school uniform neatly hung on a hanger beside the window. It wasn't her normal green one (she had hung up last night) yet it appeared to be her size. Curious, she studied it tapping her lips. 'Where have I seen this style before?' It bore some similarities to the normal blue and white style her classmates wore at Juuban Junior High School but it wasn't a match. For one thing, it had a kerchief instead of a bow. 'Wait a second... It's the same as Minako's!'

# # # # #

Kino Makoto had successfully maintained an apartment alone since the tragic deaths of her parents three years ago. She had stood against unimaginable evils that few humans knew existed. Moreover, she had done so valiantly without fear for her own personal safety. And yet the ninth-grader now dressed in the unfamiliar school uniform (that she found in her bedroom) found it exceptionally difficult to walk down the stairs. Placing the black briefcase bookbag she was carrying near her street shoes by the front door, she turned right and headed down the hallway toward the voices - the voices of _her_ family. Voices that until today were a mere memory.

As she approached closer, she heard her sister, a sister she had never had, laughing about something trivial. But then with another stab, she heard her father's voice. It was the same deep rich baritone that she fondly remembered falling asleep to as a little girl as he read her bedtime stories. She heard her mother's responses. A mother whose cooking prowess that she still strived to emulate.

As Kino Makoto, she had been a strong independent young woman; as Sailor Jupiter, she was a warrior for truth and justice who had helped save the world from formidable enemies. Yet to will herself to put one foot in front of the other and take those final steps past a gleaming kitchen to the breakfast nook where her long-dead parents were seated at the table waiting seemed the greater feat.

Somehow, she managed it.

"There she is!" Chiyo announced when she spotted her elder sister enter the dining room. She then playfully teased, "I thought you'd gone back to sleep, 'Nee-chan."

"N-No," Makoto said and sat down in the empty chair at the table trying to hold back her tears.

"Are you all right, Makoto?" her father questioned noticing her angst. He placed his hand gently upon her forehead after she sat down. "You don't seem to have a temperature." His genes had given his eldest daughter her height and in as Chiyo sometimes teased based on their aunts on his side, her bust.

"I'm fine, D-Dad, just tired..." Makoto assured him, trying to resist the urge to fling herself into his arms and hug him for all he was worth. He was in his late thirties, had angular features, gray eyes, and his hair was a little darker than either of his daughters was. His wife (her mother) was a petite woman about the same size as Ami, though with a rounder face and a pudding bowl haircut. Makoto had inherited her mother's green eyes and brown hair just as (her trip to the past demonstrated) her mother had from her own mother.

"It's no wonder you're tired, young lady, staying out to all hours of the night... Sneaking off to see that boy!" her mother huffed. "Well, you can just stay home this weekend. That includes the dance Saturday too."

"Nani?" Makoto questioned, not quite understanding.

"You're grounded," Chiyo sang, a giggle dancing amongst the words.

"That's right, Makoto, all weekend. Maybe that'll teach you not to sneak out after curfew to see that boy," her mother lectured.

"I didn't sneak out to see a boy, Mom," the teen protested. That drew a sharp look from Chiyo. "I just... I just wouldn't do something that stupid." She mentally winced at that remark. 'I did a lot of stupid things after you two died...' she remembered. She tried to remember the last time she'd been grounded but couldn't.

Her mother scowled, clearly dubious. "Kino Makoto, don't argue or you can start your grounding today instead and..."

"Mama!" Chiyo interrupted, "She's got a study session at the shrine today! And 'Nee-chan _PROMISED_ I could come too. Minako-'neechan's gonna help me with my Drama Club project."

Makoto, who'd gone to sipping orange juice to give herself time to think, nearly choked. Coughing a little, she regarded her little sister. "Drama?"

"Yeah, you know Drama Club at school." She winked.

"Oh right... Chiyo-chan... Well, Minako certainly knows a thing or two about drama," Makoto remarked. Apparently, Chiyo had picked up on the sarcasm because the preteen was glaring at her with an annoyed look. "Okay, I'm grounded this weekend... But can I please go to the study session today, Mom?" It was strange to have to ask for permission but she had to talk with the other girls and see what could be done. 'Do I want to fix things though?' The brunette shook that off. She'd worry about that after talking it over with the other girls. 'You got into this mess by acting rash, Makoto! Be more careful and plan!'

"I suppose so," her mother conceded after a few moments although she didn't look happy.

"Usagi-'neechan is gonna be there," her kid sister interjected as if it settled the matter.

'The universe is in serious trouble if Chiyo thinks Usagi is responsible,' the ponytailed teen thought as she set about eating her breakfast. 'Not that I'm any better example but... At least, I don't have the Ginzuishou that can alter rea...' Makoto's chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth. 'I bet Chibi-Usa's responsible for this!'

"Nani?" her father asked.

"I..." Makoto scrambled for something to say and blurted out, "Last night, I dreamed you and Mom were in a plane crash." Chiyo dropped her spoon with a clatter splattering milk and bits of cereal onto the table. The food Makoto had consumed turned into a cold squirming lump in her belly as she realized what she'd said.

"Plane crash?" her father asked and then smiled faintly, "I think that's just a little guilt about last night talking, Makoto." He reached out and gave her forearm a squeeze. "Well... Your mom and I are perfectly fine as you can see. Though you'll be perfectly _GROUNDED_ for a month, young lady, if you sneak out again." The remainder of breakfast passed in relative silence although her little sister kept shooting odd looks at her.

# # # # #

It was almost time to leave for school. The problem was that Makoto didn't remember exactly where Minako's school was located. 'And if I skip school, Mom and Dad will skin me alive!' So, she stalled for time by taking her dirty dishes to the sink and rinsing them before stacking them in the dishwasher. 'Hmmm... Now here's something I wish I had in my apartment.' Her apartment lease didn't allow it though even if she could afford it on her stipend, which she couldn't. 'Stop daydreaming, Makoto, and come up with an idea to get to school!' the brown-haired teen commanded herself.

She still wasn't having any luck in thinking of a way to discretely acquire the school's location when there came a knock at the front door. Chiyo ran to the door to answer it. A moment later, the eleven year old let out a whoop and exclaimed, "**Mako-chan! Minako-'neechan is here!**"

'Saved... for the moment,' Makoto thought with relief. She headed for the front door to greet her friend. "Hey Artemis!" she called spotting the white cat who was being cuddled by Chiyo. Artemis gave her a resigned look. 'I wonder if Luna told him what I was up to last night... Come to think of it, how much does Luna even know?' The tall teen turned to her friend and started to say, "Ohayo, Mina..." But finished the greeting by yelping, "**Y-YOUR HAIR?**"

"Like it?" Minako chirped with a grin, "I got it done last night, Mako-chan." There was still the classic Aino Minako with her trademark red ribbon and award-winning smile as she struck a pose for the two Kino sisters. But instead of the long blond hair that Makoto had seen her sport since they had met a year ago, this Minako's hair had been cut and frizzed out.

'From the back, she looks like a blond Naru,' Makoto mused drawing the closest comparison. "You... got it cut?" she guessed while pulling on her shoes. "Why?"

"With Usagi's long locks? I've decided to try the cute tomboy look out before she steals all the cute hunks. 'Sides, doesn't it make me look older?"

"Um..." the brunette commented as she stood up and grabbed her briefcase bookbag by the door, "Considering her and Mamoru are an item..."

"Usagi-'nee and Mamo-chan? An item?" Chiyo squeaked, "Since when?" She knew Chibi-Usa was hung-up on him but she's just a kid.

"Quite awhile I'm afraid, Chi-chan," Minako replied consolingly before turning to her ponytailed friend, "Like way to crush your imouto's dreams, girlfriend."

"Oh come on, Minako, the only thing missing from that is a neon sign," Makoto grumbled. "Now come on, and let's get to school before we're tardy."

# # # # #

Makoto spent the first part of the walk to school listening to her sister and Minako chatter about various things. Most of it concerned Chiyo's upcoming Drama Club project. However, she grew unsettled that her kid sister seemed to be taking boyfriend advice from Minako as well. 'Not that I'm any better,' she mused as the waited at a rail crossing for a commuter train to pass. 'How am I going to find my way around the school?' she worried. She had only been to Minako's school (Shiba Koen Junior High) once to watch her beribboned friend play volleyball. 'Come to think of it, I'm glad Minako is walking me there or I'd never know where it is.'

She was pulled from her musing by Minako saying, "And when you think you have him interested, Chi-chan, you hint that you might be up for a kiss." Chiyo giggled and blushed.

"Minako! Stop corrupting my imouto!" the tall brunette scolded her friend. "Chiyo's too young for a boyfriend let alone to be kissing one!"

"That's like _way_ hypocritical, Onee-chan!" Chiyo protested. She had to shout to be heard over the noise of a passing train. "Who was it who was caught with Fujiwara-kun in the dark in her bedroom when she was my age?" The girl sometimes wished that her big sister could see her as "_practically a teen_" instead of a little girl like Chibi-Usa. For her part, Makoto couldn't do anything but gape as the other people gathered at the crossing stared at her.

Minako seemingly impressed didn't help by saying, "Wow, I knew you snuck him into your house but into your room?" Makoto wanted to find a rock and crawl under it at that point. Thankfully, the barrier lifted before she had to make a defense. She practically sprinted across the tracks trying to get away from the embarrassing moment.

Once past the railroad crossing, an annoyed Kino Chiyo hugged Minako, glared at her sister, and then announced, "I'll see you guys after school!" 'Usagi-'neesan wouldn't say I was too young for a boyfriend! I'll ask her opinion at the shrine. Onee-chan will listen to her.' That decided, she turned left and dashed across the street while calling to one of her friends.

"Boy, she's bouncy," her sister commented, "Maybe she'll share."

Minako giggled and then assumed a forlorn expression. "Ah youth, it is but a fleeting memory of a woman's past." She sighed as they continued walking.

"You aren't that old, Mina-chan," Makoto said distractedly as she watched her younger sister bound down the sidewalk and finally, out of sight. She was also annoyed that Chiyo had made an assertion against her in public - it felt like a betrayal. 'A boyfriend! Chiyo's just a kid. If I tried that when I was her age, Mom would've...' She let the thought trail off when Minako replied.

"Mako-chan, adulthood is just around the corner! I mean next year, we'll be in high school." Minako sighed dramatically, which made her friend snicker. "So many wasted opportunities..."

"Minako, what are you talking about?" the brunette demanded.

"Well when I got back from England, I had a chance to do the Sailor V stuff here, but I turned it down. Sometimes, I wish I would've..." The ribbon-wearing blonde stopped and turned back to her friend who'd come to a dead stop. "What?" and then in a lower voice, "Is it the enemy?" She looked around nervously. The Witches 5 and their Daimon could easily pop up anywhere.

"You never did the Sailor V stuff?"

Minako shook her head. "Jeez, you know I didn't, Mako-chan. With the Dark Kingdom maybe still running around, I had to dedicate my time to that. It was tough and Artemis was of no help. If you hadn't had been there for me and the way Mom was..." She grinned. "You know, when I finally decided to tell you I was Sailor V after that, I didn't exactly clue you in on the whole Artemis talks thing." 'He was already freaked out enough.'

"I don't think I would've believed you if you had, Minako," the brunette surmised. "I mean if I hadn't been busy fighting off a Youma, I might've thought I was going crazy when it did happen."

The blonde nodded. "I know..." She paused to examine a boy walking ahead of them for a moment before continuing, "It was a little weird finding out Luna talked too. I knew Artemis had a partner but he would never say whom. He claimed for security reasons. Then out of the blue, bang! She talks and gives me a new transformation pen." She sighed. "So then, I went from Sailor V to Sailor Venus in one fell swoop. Both good and bad in a way."

"Why would you think it was bad?"

Minako grew irritated then huffed, "Mako-chan, they did photo shoots - even made a movie about Sailor V. The one I saw wasn't up my alley - all fluff. They wanted an idol who stood around looking cute and that's what they ended up with too." She shrugged again. It was water under the bridge now. "Sailor Venus is just a bit player. They haven't done any Sailor Senshi films and even if they do, I bet Sailor Moon would be the lead." She sighed and started to walk a little faster. "Now come on or we'll be tardy."

Out of all of the questions that Makoto's brain was forming she only allowed herself to contemplate the easiest of them. 'Wonder how Usagi took that? She's a die-hard Sailor V fan!' the ponytailed teen mused as she took a few long strides to catch up to her friend. 'I wonder if any of the other girls have changed? Or is it just Minako and me?' She could see why she herself might be different but she couldn't understand the change in Minako.

She was still chewing on this idea, not even paying attention to Minako, when a stranger came up to walk beside her. "Ohayo," she said but otherwise didn't acknowledge whoever it was. 'Okay, but how would that work? I mean Sailor Venus saved us from Kunzite so how...'

Her mental replay of that fight last year came to an abrupt halt as whoever had been walking beside her draped their arm across her shoulders - meaning they were tall - and down her front so that their palm was resting atop one of her ample breasts. Then said hand squeezed said breast.

Even as her eyes began to widen, Makoto was reacting. Gripping the offending hand, she used her not inconsiderable strength to flip her assailant causing him to end up prone on his back. She didn't let go however. Rising to her feet, she sent her foot rocketing down towards her attacker's windpipe.

"MAKOTO!" Minako shouted. The fright and warning in the other girl's voice brought her up short. "It's Toya!"

"Toya?" Makoto questioned and then she remembered the name being mentioned by her sister. Keeping the death grip on the male teenager's wrist, she moved her foot enough to regard him.

"Hey there, short stuff," Taguchi Toya remarked, pain evident in his tone, "Mind letting me up?" He hoped none of his friends had seen this.

'Yes, I do mind!' she wanted to tell him but moved her foot so she was firmly planted. "Touch my chest again, mister, and you'll die," she warned him. She then let his wrist go stepping back and settling herself prepared for a counterattack. Makoto's mind noted that her blond friend was staring at her as if she had grown another head.

Toya got to his feet while wincing and rubbing his wrist. "I'll remember that." Now that tall brunette could see why he had called her "_short stuff_". He topped her by at least three inches. With dark eyes, raven hair, and well-defined muscles, Makoto could certainly see why (physically) she'd be interested in him. 'Am I this shallow?' she wondered.

"Mako-chan, if you hurt Toya-kun, the entire basketball team will be out for your blood," Minako pointed out sarcastically.

"I'm okay, Minako-chan," Toya replied but he was still rubbing his wrist, "Sorry I surprised you there, Mako-chan." He then began brushed off some of the dirt from his navy blue uniform. After a few more seconds of silence, the three of them continued walking to school. "Um Mako-chan... Where'd you learn to do that?" the young man wondered. He had never thought his girlfriend was interested in martial arts much less so skilled in them.

"I heard they're gonna do a live action movie of YuYu Hakusho," Makoto lied with a straight face. That had the effect of blocking anything else Toya would say because Minako started pestering her with questions about the fictitious live action movie.

# # # # #

Once in the shoe locker area of Shiba Koen Junior High School, the trio removed their street shoes and donned their indoor shoes. "Well, I'll catch you later, minna!" Minako called. Makoto looked up her mouth opening to utter a protest but the frizzy-haired blonde had already left.

"Ready?" Toya asked.

"For what?" Makoto asked in a distracted sort of way. Then she began to get anxious. 'How am I going to get to class?' The place was huge compared to its Juuban counterpart.

"Class? You know, where we learn stuff?" He frowned, concern clearly written on his face. "Are you all right, Mako-chan?"

"Yeah... just tired." She had a feeling she was going to be using that excuse a lot today. 'I sound like Usagi!' one part of her brain scolded as she followed him deeper into the building and up the stairs. 'You know, girlfriend, from this angle, he's got a cute butt!' The ponytailed teen felt herself starting to blush.

He paused outside a classroom. "You sure you're okay, Makoto?"

Makoto looked up at the sign above the door that read "3-C" and said, "Yeah, like I said, Toya-kun, I'm tired and I got grounded."

"What? For how long? What about..." he demanded in a surprised tone.

"Sneaking out," Makoto supplied and started pushed past him but he grabbed her by the arm.

"Why were you sneaking out so late?" he wondered, his face turning serious. 'Does she have another guy?'

"Do you want to keep that hand, mister?" Makoto warned him. He followed her gaze to where his hand was clamped around her arm.

"Gomen, Mako-chan," Toya apologized while releasing his grasp. It seemed to take some effort. "I'm just worried about you is all. Nighttime can be a scary place for a girl without a big strong man to protect her."

The brunette rolled her eyes. "I don't need a bat and a set of balls to protect me." With that, she entered the classroom. She was startled when she was greeted by a group of girls (none of whom she knew), who also greeted Toya. 'You can keep him.' She vaguely wondered how she was going to find her desk but again, the "_boob pincher_" came to her rescue.

"Makoto... You seem to be a bit out of it," Toya observed. He knew something was really bothering his girlfriend. He decided some chivalry was in order. 'It might cheer her up.' So he offered his hand. "May I show you to your seat, _mademoiselle_?" his voice was teasing in nature.

She blushed again. 'Blarg, I can see myself falling for this guy.' She heard some giggling. A number of other students seemed to be watching intently to see what she would do. Not wanting to make a fool out of herself, the brunette accepted his outstretched hand letting her putative boyfriend guide her to her desk, and seat her there. He then went to a desk located several rows behind hers. 'So Toya's in my class too.' Makoto noted that some of the girls in her class were giving her boyfriend's covetous looks. 'Oh, they must not know, or care about what he did.'

'Now Makoto,' another part of her brain scolded, 'Don't be that way. You don't even really know him. Give the guy a chance! Minako likes him.' The brunette sighed. She hated when her conscience scolded her with Usagi's voice; it made ignoring it rather difficult.

# # # # #

At lunchtime, Minako cornered Makoto in the school cafeteria and dragged her off to the girl's restroom. No one was immediately in evidence. "Okay, Makoto, spill. Did you and Toya have a fight last night? 'Cause Hikaru-chan was telling Rin-chan that you were talking weird to Toya-kun!" She folded her arms and glared testily at her best friend.

"Minako-chan... I did not - let me repeat - DID NOT see Toya last night."

"Then why are you treating him like you broke up with him, Makoto? For that matter, what the heck was up with you this morning? You've never done that before when one of your boy-toys wanted to cop a little squeeze. You always said it would make them spend more on you later."

She wanted to scream but instead, she snapped, "I'm tired, all right? I was up late last night." She glared at the blonde silently daring her to accuse her of being with Toya. "I'm... out of sorts and with Chiyo..."

"Yeah, I can't believe what you said to poor Chi-chan," Minako commented. "She was right you know. I mean we had boyfriends when we were her age." Of course, in her friend's case since it was before they met, she only had her word on it.

"Kami-sama! She's only ten!" Makoto protested. She had to keep from rolling her eyes. "And what do you mean '_we had boyfriends_'?"

"So says '_Miss Little Black Book the Size of Tokyo_'. I mean you were hitting up college guys last year..." The beribboned blonde then pouted. "I still can't believe you didn't take me along."

'Oh Kami-sama, say I'm not... THAT sort of girl!' Wanting to get off the subject of the gaggle of boyfriends that the Makoto of this timeline apparently had and seeing a couple of girls enter the restroom, she pulled her friend down out of the restroom and down a hallway until she found an empty classroom. She then shoved her friend inside. Minako, of course, protested such rough treatment but then saw the determined look on her friend's face. Makoto deciding she had to say something. So she took a deep breath and admitted, "Minako, I was out at the park on Senshi business last night."

"What? Makoto, why didn't you wake me up?" Minako demanded.

"Because it was just something I had to do alone."

"Which was...?"

"I gotta talk to Luna first and see if I _can_ tell," the statuesque teen offered evasively, and then decided the boyfriend subject was safer after all. "So are you interested in Toya? Is that why I'm getting twenty questions?"

"Whoa, girlfriend, back up the train! What happened last night?"

The tall teen sighed. "Listen, I... I'll talk with Luna first and see if I get the all clear, please Minako-chan?"

"Well, okay," the blonde reluctantly agreed, "It can't have been too bad or else Usagi's danger sense would've gone off." After a moment, she asked, "You still mad about this morning, Mako-chan?"

"No," was the ponytailed brunette's response, "I'm just trying to decide if I should be or not."

Minako sighed. "Listen, Mako-chan, it was probably an accident. What did Toya say anyway?"

"That it was an accident."

"See... And you don't believe him?"

"My parents don't seem to like him, Mina-chan." That carried a lot of weight in her book. She could almost hear the beribboned blonde's eyes roll.

"That's because your dad and his hated each other at university!"

"Really?"

"That's what you told me, Ma..." The blonde gave her best friend a suspicious look. "Hey, what's been going on with you?"

"N-nothing... Come on, Minako, I'm starving. Let's eat before lunch is over." Her stomach seconded that by voicing its opinion.

# # # # #

As the class bowed to their homeroom teacher, Makoto had never been so happy to see the end of a school day in her entire life. She'd managed to get lost three times. The most difficult part was even though her classes were no harder academically than she was used to, she was forced to feign knowing people that apparently knew her. Finally though, it was over.

With a sigh, she closed her shoe locker and bent down to retrieve her bookbag briefcase sitting on the floor. She was looking forward to seeing the other Sailor Senshi (and her sister she added) at the shrine. She had to talk to them about what happened and not alarm her sister. 'They'll never believe me,' she worried. Standing up, she turned to leave but let out a squeak as she came face to face with her boyfriend Taguchi Toya. "Don't do that!" she scolded him, "Remember this morning?" The look on his face said he remembered the incident quite vividly.

"I'll see you later, ne Mako-chan?" he asked her hopefully.

"I'm grounded," Makoto reminded him.

"When's that ever stopped you before, short stuff?" Toya quipped. It made the tall teenager grit her teeth.

"Toya-kun..." Taking a deep breath, she tried to soften her voice. "Toya... Mom and Dad told me that if I don't shape up, they'll ship me off to my aunt's." It wasn't a lie. They had made that threat all right after a particularly nasty tantrum - sadly shortly before their deaths. "You wouldn't want that, ne?" He shook his head. "Neither do I."

"So you aren't going on our date tonight to the arcade," he guessed in a morose sort of tone.

Mentally gathering herself, she said, "Gomen, Toya. I'm gonna miss it but Mom and Dad are _majorly_ serious about it." She reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes.

He caught her hand and asked softly, like a little boy, "What about the dance Saturday, Mako-chan?"

"Maybe, if I'm VERY good for the rest of the week, I might talk my mom into being a bit more flexible. But I'm not promising anything." She reached up and cupped his cheek for a moment. She thought about kissing him but decided against it. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She then walked past him and out of the school. 'Oh Kami-sama, I can see why my other self would make a big deal over him. He's kawaii!' She blushed.

A minute later, she heard someone calling her. She turned and found Minako running up to her. "Okay, girlfriend, time to motor to our study session."

"Since when are you so excited about studying, Minako-chan?" Makoto questioned as they exited the school grounds.

"If I don't pass my midterms, my 'rents will never let me hear the end of it."

"Point," she agreed. "I'd better study too."

Minako, however, was gushing about a completely different topic. "You should've heard the girls in class when I walked in this morning, Mako-chan! They couldn't believe my new hairstyle. Mie-chan had the nerve to suggest I was jealous of her hair!" The ribbon-wearing teen made a move as if tossing long hair. "I told her if I was gonna be jealous of long flowing hair, I'd be jealous of Usagi first!" The brunette was then treated to a diatribe about "_Mie-chan_" who apparently came from a well-to-do family and why couldn't she go to a private school like T*A [Thomas Aquinas School for Girls]. "But Hikaru-chan said I looked hot and would be ready for bikini season. Plus some of the hunks were eyeing me." She grinned and winked at her friend.

Makoto listened, more because she was thankful to not to be talking about her love-life. She tried to make the proper comments since she didn't know any of the people who Minako babbling on about. As they came to the corner where they had separated from Chiyo that morning, Makoto was even more relieved to hear her sister calling, "**ONEE-CHAN!**"

"Hi Chi-chan!" Minako called as the youngster came up to them.

"Hi Chiyo-chan," Makoto seconded. She smiled when the younger girl gave her a hug. 'She's a good girl. This Makoto is really lucky to have her.' After a moment, she asked, "Ready to go study?" Chiyo nodded and the trio turned to cross the street together.

End of Chapter 5

Coming next in **Chapter 6 "Into the Rabbit Hole"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	6. Chapter 6 Into the Rabbit Hole

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 6 "Into the Rabbit Hole"**

_Monday, May 9, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

"**H**ello girls!" Grandpa Hino greeted Makoto, Minako, and Chiyo as the trio arrived at the bottom of the long set of stairs that led up to the Hikawa Shrine grounds.

Makoto couldn't help but grin as he saw him covertly ogling her teenage body. 'At least, some things haven't changed,' she thought. There were subtle differences and large differences but the ponytailed brunette wasn't sure what she would have done if the old Shinto priest had been absent.

"Hey Hino-ojiisan," Minako chirped airily, "Like my new hairstyle?"

"It's... different," the old man said carefully.

'In other words no,' Makoto silently supplied.

"Was it tough getting back into schoolwork after Golden Week, Aino-san?" the old priest asked by way of changing the subject.

"It was torture having to sit at my desk today and listen for hours on end, ojii-san. It feels like I'm slowly dying inside," the frizzy-haired blonde remarked rather dramatically. Chiyo giggled.

Makoto wasn't paying attention. She reminiscenced about her week. After her parents' deaths, Golden Week meant a lonely time in her apartment with only her plants for company. The shrines were always crowded and her other friends normally went on trips or outings with their families. She tried once going out to a Greenery Day event when she was thirteen. She saw kids and their parents and relatives enjoying themselves. It just served to remind her of what she no longer had and it turned into anger. This year, she just stayed home until her friends returned. 'Ami stayed home too,' she reminded herself. However, her genius friend was so focused on studying that she viewed Golden Week as a golden [no pun intended] opportunity to go even further ahead in her studies.

"So you wish you were still back on vacation then, ne?"

"No," Minako replied to the priest, "Mine was BO-RING!"

"And how was yours, Kino-san?" Grandpa Hino asked.

"Nani? Uh, it was good, Hino-ojiisan," she assumed. She silently wished that she could have gotten here a week sooner to have had the chance to spend the holidays with her parents and little sister.

Chiyo affirmed her sister's statement by saying, "Yeah, it was sugoi! We took a trip to an onsen [hot springs] up in the mountains. It was great! We saw my friend Hinako and her family there too." She frowned. "Hina-chan said her mama was sad though. She has relatives in Sapporo. It's really too bad that the `_North_´ doesn't allow Golden Week."

"The DPRJ has different traditions than us, Chiyo-chan," the old man stated sadly, "They must answer to the Soviets."

Makoto opened her mouth but she stopped herself. 'DPRJ? What's that? And why would answering to the Russians have anything to do with Golden Week?' She scowled trying to recall if she'd heard anything to address her questions. She mentally shrugged.

"Which is totally dumb!" Chiyo snapped then mused, "If I could time travel, I'd go back and warn somebody about them." Makoto winced. She couldn't help it.

"Don't let it get you down," Minako said, "Ne ojii-san?"

Grandpa Hino smiled indulgently. "Well, feel free to go on up, girls. Usagi called to say she'd be delayed." He said this while waving the girls up the stairs. Chiyo looked as if she wanted to ask why Usagi would be delayed but didn't.

Makoto had blinked at his announcement and then closed her mouth. 'I shouldn't badmouth Usagi learning some courtesy. At least, Rei can't complain this time that Usagi didn't let us know.' The tall teen just shook her head bemusedly.

"What?"

"I'm just intrigued by the fact that Usagi phoned to say she was delayed," the brunette offered warily. When it came to actual study sessions, everyone just expected their pigtailed leader to arrive late. Academic pursuits were not her forte. On the other hand, Usagi was rarely late when food or Mamoru were involved. She smiled at that.

"Yeah, I wanna know why Usagi-oneechan is gonna be late too," her preteen sister seconded. "I wanna talk to her! Oh well... I'll go ahead and make us tea." She then bounded up the stairs leaving her teenage elders behind.

"So you dumped Toya, ne?" Minako questioned impatiently. Maybe her friend would open up now that they were away from school and "_little ears_".

"Hmmm..."

"Toya-kun?"

"Nani? What about him, Minako," Makoto replied, regarding the ribbon-wearing blonde.

"He was looking like majorly crushed when we left school today."

"I told him I was grounded and when he said I should sneak out anyway, I told him that Mom threatened to send me to my aunt's." The brunette shivered. "That's not something I wanna _remotely_ risk happening. I said if I was a _very_ good girl and stayed home tonight and behaved the rest of the week, I might be able to sweet-talk Mom into letting me go to the dance this weekend."

Minako gave her best friend an odd look but then nodded in understanding. "Well, Mako-chan, I guess we'll just have to hope for the best then. I'm rooting for you!"

As they crested the top of the stairs, Makoto looked around and spotted Luna and Artemis on the veranda that surrounded the private living quarters. Crossing the courtyard, the two teens approached them. "Hi Luna, Artemis," Makoto greeted. She bent down to give Artemis a scratch behind his ears. "How's things?" Minako scooped her familiar up and started into the residence.

Once inside, the white feline looked about and then answered in a low voice, "Good, it's quiet. I'm wondering when Eudial will show her face again."

"Artemis feels that if two days go by without an attack, the enemy is up to something." Luna huffed, "We already know that they are planning something vile. This just gives us more chance to train."

"And study!"

Minako piped up, "And meet boys!" She grinned. "Oh come on, Artemis, you know us girls need some relaxation between fighting for love and justice." Her friend laughed.

"Well, I just hope there are no attacks for the rest of the week," Makoto mused. Even as she said it, she knew this was unlikely to happen. "I mean if Mom catches me sneaking out again, I'll never hear the end of it."

"And she'll be shipped off to our aunt's place!" Chiyo's voice made them all jump and four heads - two cats and two humans - turned in the direction of the young girl. She was carrying a tray full of tea things. "Come on, minna. We can get started."

# # # # #

Makoto was helping her little sister with a math problem when the door to the sitting room where they were studying opened. She looked up prepared to greet whoever was arriving but the words died in her throat. It was Usagi - the same Usagi she knew with her long flowing golden hair done up in odangos and pigtails and her remarkable blue eyes - but something was different.

"Usagi-'neechan!" Chiyo squealed. She got up and rushed over to the older girl hugging her tightly.

The blonde smiled and returned the hug. "Konnichiwa Chi-chan," she said and then regarded her friends. "Mako-chan, and Mi... Oh my, what did you do to your hair?" The eleven year old giggled.

"You like?" Minako asked hopefully, while trying to fluff up her frizzy hairstyle.

Makoto wasn't even paying attention to the byplay. She was too focused on her friend's stylish T*A school uniform. 'Kami-sama, why is Usagi wearing Rei's fuku?' Rei would flip out when she saw it.

"Are you all right, Mako-chan?" Usagi asked in concern seeming to sense something. She let go of Chiyo and came over to stand before her ponytailed friend. "You don't look too well."

"She broke up with Toya," Minako declared simply before she could respond. The petite blonde blinked and then nodded knowingly as if that explained everything.

"Minako, I keep telling you I did NOT break up with Toya."

"The poor girl's still in denial," Minako observed disregarding the statement.

Makoto said testily, "I was just surprised to see Usagi wearing that school fuku." She was trying to keep herself from wringing Minako's neck.

"Why?" came the puzzled question. The tall teen mentally cringed. It was Chibi-Usa's voice this time. She slowly turned her head and got another shock - the strawberry-blond-haired child was in the exact same uniform. At least, the elementary school version of it. "It's Usagi-oneesama's school fuku." She then explained primly, "Thomas Aquinas School for Girls is very strict about such things."

"I just... um..." the brunette began then admitted, "I thought she and Rei had switched."

"Rei? When would I have time? I was with Daddy," Usagi supplied while straightening, "And in Rei's case, you know she's usually the last to arrive. I doubt she'd skip her student council duties or music club just to pull a prank." Chibi-Usa nodded her agreement. Usagi didn't want to mention that her uniform would be too small to fit her fiery friend even if they wanted to switch. She let out a sigh. "Not to mention, every Golden Week..."

"It was hectic here, ne?" Chiyo interrupted voicing the obvious question.

"Even crazier than last year, Chi-chan," Chibi-Usa answered. "We had lines all the way down the stairs!"

Usagi giggled a little but it did sound tired. "Near the end, I was very tempted to use an ofuda to ward off all the schoolgirls. I'm still exhausted. I don't know how Ojii-chan keeps up with the demand."

"Would you like me to go get more tea, Usagi-'neechan?" the younger Kino offered.

"Please allow me to, Chi-chan," Chibi-Usa quickly volunteered. "You're our guest after all. I'll just be a moment while I change."

Usagi nodded. "Serenity's right. Let me just slip out of this and into something more comfortable." This brief exchange left Makoto's head spinning.

"I thought your dad was out of the town this week, Usagi-chan. Some big party conference or some such thing," Minako commented as her friend made her way towards the door.

Usagi stopped long enough to reply, "He is. He's catching a plane to Hiroshima tonight. Daddy picked Serenity and I up from school before he headed out to the airport so that he could have a quick visit with us and see how we're doing in school."

Makoto was digesting all of this information as her friend left the room. 'Usagi-oneesama?' Makoto wondered, 'Chibi-Usa never called Usagi that... And since when does Usagi call Chibi-Usa "_Serenity_"? I better make sure I call her that too.' Then another idea occurred to her. 'Usagi and Rei together in the same school? It's a wonder it's still standing!' _Thomas Aquinas School for Girls_ was an expensive private All-girls Catholic school.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Chiyo. "You know, Onee-chan, Mom and Dad would like it if you really did dump Taguchi-kun." 'Especially Dad.'

"Chiyo, you haven't finished this math problem," the tall teen countered.

"Slave driver," her sister grumbled but got back to working her way through it.

Usagi returned a few minutes later with her textbooks but dressed in a more casual outfit. Chibi-Usa wasn't far behind her carrying a fresh pot of tea. The two girls had just settled down when Ami arrived.

'Thank the Kami!' Makoto thought as she greeted her friend, 'Ami hasn't changed!' The blue-haired teen was wearing the same school uniform as she always did and carrying her textbooks.

"Konnichiwa, minna-san. How is everyone?" Ami announced with a smile as she settled herself at the low table and accepted an offered cup of tea. "Arigato, Serenity-chan," she said to Chibi-Usa. "I could do with a cup of tea right now. Umino outscored me on that test today."

"Careful, Ami-chan," Minako teased, "I think he's got a major crush on you." The blue-haired girl nearly choked on her tea and then stared at the blonde peculiarly for a few moments.

"Were you attacked by a lawnmower, Minako-chan?" Makoto who'd been about to bite into a scone snorted. Usagi giggled in obvious agreement.

"Hino Usagi, I thought you liked my hair!" Minako protested with her hands on her hips.

Usagi's response was drowned out by Makoto's mental voice screaming, '**HINO USAGI?**' She turned completely pale. Did that really mean what it implied? Did Usagi really live at the Hikawa Shrine with Rei's grandfather? Was it Rei's father she was talking about going to the airport? "Oh Kami-sama..." Makoto moaned and dropped her head into her hands. This day had just been full of jolts.

"What's the matter, Mako-chan? Minako's hair isn't that bad," Ami wondered.

"She dumped Taguchi," Usagi remarked. Oddly, the petite blonde sounded relieved.

"Not again," Ami protested, "And I thought you were going to really make it this time. Gomen Mako-chan." She knew her friend would be depressed until she got another boyfriend.

"Minna, you should've seen her this morning," Minako said in a conspiratorial stage whisper, "She flipped Toya over her shoulder and nearly ripped his arm off!"

"Onee-chan!" Chiyo cried.

"I guess your date didn't go well last night," Chibi-Usa concluded. "And here you thought wearing my key would bring you luck. Gomen Mako-oneesan."

Thus, her friends were irrevocably convinced that Makoto had had a secret rendezvous with Toya the night before at the park and it hadn't gone well. This led into Minako lamenting about her own boy troubles and it was into this that Rei walked in looking grumpy.

"Boy troubles?" Usagi asked blandly by way of greeting the raven-haired girl.

"Brother troubles," Tsukino Rei huffed. Makoto's mind, already numb from all of the surprises, only vaguely registered that Rei was wearing the same style school uniform as Ami. "Shingo's a good kid but I swear he can be so... so male!"

'Shingo? Rei's brother?' Makoto thought and then mentally threw up her hands. She'd just have to go with the flow and try to handle things as they came.

"What's your otouto done now, Rei-chan?" Minako questioned. "He's usually careful to steer clear of you."

"What he's done..." Rei snapped testily. "The little toad went pawing through my panty drawer looking for the power cable to his game console." She slammed her textbooks onto the table in a fit of temper. "Just because I hid it there the last time I was trying to study. If he'd only apply himself more, he'd rank in the top ten like I do!" Of course, Ami and Umino were always ranked number one and two.

"You caught him in the act, didn't you?" Makoto guessed.

"Yes," Rei hissed. She then took a deep breath and decided to change to subject. "What's this about boyfriends?" When it had been explained, raven-haired teen sighed. "Some boys are just majorly dense." 'Usagi is so lucky to have found her true love. If only he...' She blushed. There was one boy at school who she wished would confess to her but he was too shy about it and Rei didn't want to ask him because she was worried she'd scare him off. The beautiful and popular student council vice president had no shortage of confessions (from so-called popular guys, jocks, or pretty boys) but Rei had politely turned down them. Not that it dissuaded them from trying. Most other boys were too intimidated to approach the pretty brunette.

"Now that we are all here, minna-san," Usagi declared, "We should get started on our homework."

"Yeah," Chiyo agreed. "We can't stay too long today or Mama will blow a gasket!" Of course, this comment had to be explained. The girls' reactions were interesting. Ami looked worried and naturally concerned about the impact of Makoto's late night escapade on her grades. Rei rolled her eyes and muttered something about destined love. Makoto had already heard Minako's reaction ad nauseam. Usagi and Chibi-Usa seemed to be neutral on the matter.

"At least, you didn't lose my key," Chibi-Usa interjected. Makoto could see that Luna wanted to interject something of her own but with Chiyo there, she couldn't.

# # # # #

Kino Makoto sighed and threw down her pencil. She rubbed her temples and made a face at the notebook before her. "What's the matter, Mako-chan?" Usagi questioned.

The brunette looked up and shook her head. "My head feels like I've had a pile of books shoved into it." She made a face. "I just can't focus, Usagi-chan." Getting up, she said, "I'm gonna go get some air."

"I'll come with you," Usagi offered. "I could use some air too." The ponytailed teen smiled and the pair left the room. They were quiet for several seconds as they walked outside before Usagi asked, "Mako-chan, are you really all right?"

"It's just a lot of things..." Makoto answered vaguely, "Minako... Toya... Chiyo."

"Chiyo?"

"Yeah, she's got a boyfriend... or claims she has."

"She's a little young for that," her pigtailed friend pointed out.

The brunette nodded. "I tried telling her that, Usagi-chan, but she got into a real huff." She winced at the memory that morning. "I guess I haven't been the best role model when it comes to relationships." She shook her head. "And Minako..."

"Is high-spirited and boy-crazy," Usagi supplied with a giggle. "Yes, I can see why that might be a problem." After a pause, the blonde asked, "Mako-chan, would you like me to talk with Chiyo for you?"

"That would be great!" Makoto exclaimed and then added in a quieter tone of voice, "Then again, Usagi-chan, she was a little put out when she found out about you and Mamoru." She then regarded her pigtailed friend. "I just... I don't want my imouto to make the mistakes I seem to have made."

Usagi nodded. "Come on, Mako-chan. Let's go back in. You said your folks don't want you out too long."

"I'll be right in," Makoto agreed. "But I need to go use the `_Little Sailor Senshi's Room_´ first." Usagi giggled and nodded in understanding.

# # # # #

"Where's Chiyo-chan?" Usagi asked as she came into the room.

"Serenity wanted to show her something, Usagi-chan," Ami answered.

"Oh," the golden-haired teen remarked and settled herself back at the table.

"Is Makoto all right?"

"Yes, she'll be back in a couple minutes."

Minako finally dared to broach the subject that she'd been sitting on since the start of the meeting. She glanced around one last time to make sure that Chibi-Usa and Chiyo hadn't come back from Chibi-Usa's room nor had Makoto returned. She then asked seriously, "Ami-chan, I want you to scan Makoto."

"What?" Senshi of Mercury asked in surprise. Her pencil was poised over a page where she'd been taking copious notes from a English textbook. Rei and Usagi also looked surprised by the unexpected demand. "Why?"

"Because she's acting majorly weird," Minako exclaimed.

"But you said," Usagi reasoned, "That Mako-chan broke up with Taguchi Toya."

"Yeah, Makoto always gets into these funks after a break-up," Rei pointed out. She didn't mention that Minako did too to a lesser degree. "It's probably hitting her harder than usual because she's been with Taguchi longer."

"It's not just that, Rei-chan," Minako countered. "I mean this morning, she... It was like she didn't even know Toya. And she didn't know Chiyo's age - she thought the kid was ten!"

"I think," Luna began as she hopped up onto the table, "That Makoto may be simply preoccupied." The teens stared at the black cat with various expressions.

"Do you know something, Luna?" the shorthaired blonde wondered and then shot the white cat a stern look.

"I just know that when I walked Makoto home from the park last night, she was very distracted," Luna explained. "She might just have a lot of things on her mind lately." 'Like the mission she was on. Why does Pluto have to be so...'

"Aha! So she was in the park!" Minako declared. "I knew it."

Artemis sighed. "Give it a break, Minako. It's not important. I'm sure if Makoto thinks there's anything we need to know, she'll tell us." Rei and Usagi nodded but the ribbon-wearing blonde pouted a little. "I understand that you're worried about her and that's what a best friend does."

"Worried about whom?" Makoto questioned as she came into the room. She smirked a little as the others gave a guilty start. "Are you still stressing about me?"

"Yeah, girlfriend," Minako admitted. "You've been acting odd..."

"I told you I'm fine, Minako. I've had a really odd day is all." Makoto chuckled and then shrugged. "Probably not the weirdest day of my life but an odd day."

"What would be the weirdest day then, Mako-chan?" her raven-haired friend asked curiously.

Makoto blinked and then smiling answered, "The day I found out I was a Sailor Senshi of course!"

"Oh yeah. I'll never forget that day," the frizzy-haired blonde agreed. "I mean suddenly Artemis starts talking to me and you." She giggled. "I thought he'd blown a gasket. You weren't supposed to know he could talk. Then Luna shows up a second later and gives us both transformation pens."

"Artemis?" the brunette couldn't stop from asking. 'He wasn't around when I became a Sailor Senshi. Just Usagi and Luna.'

"What?" Artemis asked regarding the tall teen.

"I..." Makoto paused, "I just always figured you would've told Minako when she was over in England. I mean before coming back and all."

"Now that would've been wild, Mako-chan!" her beribboned friend exclaimed. "But Artemis wasn't with me in England. It was tough because I was barely thirteen then. If it hadn't been for Katarina..." She then threw a significant look at Ami. "Hmmm... I wonder what it would've been like running around as a Sailor Senshi when I was Serenity's age?"

"Mina-chan," Artemis remarked dryly, "There likely wouldn't have been much difference." Usagi giggled, blushing a little as she did so. Rei snickered and lowered her head to hide her smirk.

"That's mean, Artemis," Usagi scolded. "Minako's a lovely young woman."

"All the hunks think so," Minako remarked with a wink.

Rei groaned, "Can we PLEASE get back to studying?"

"That would be a pleasant idea, Rei-chan," Ami seconded. "I'm only six chapters ahead."

Makoto glanced at her watch. "I'd like to, minna, but I should actually go round up Chiyo and head home. Mom really wasn't real happy about letting me come over here today. I think I'd better make a good showing at home." She looked at the others and sighed. "And I think I need a nap. Like I said before, it's been a majorly odd day."

"Call me later, Mako-chan," Usagi requested as she rose. "I'll go get the girls, and Serenity will wanna say good-bye."

"Uh, Usagi-chan, can I ask you something?" the brunette asked as she paused in the packing of her bookbag. When Usagi nodded, she took a breath and then asked curiously, "Why don't you call Serenity `_Chibi-Usa_´?"

"Chibi-Usa...?" the petite blonde asked and got a wistful look on her face. "I don't think it ever occurred to any of us, and calling both of us Usagi was a little confusing at first. So Serenity suggested using her middle name while she was in the past."

"You know, Usagi, I bet Serenity would like it," Rei commented. "I mean she's very proud of being your daughter."

'Huh... come to think of it, I don't remember Usagi ever referring to Chibi-Usa as `_Chibi-Usa_´ until...' She tried to think. 'It was after she started going to school.'

Usagi smiled. "She is a good girl. I can hardly wait until Serenity is born so I can watch her grow up. Now just a moment while I fetch them." And she left the room.

# # # # #

Makoto was humming to herself as she mixed and folded some batter in a bowl. It was after dinner and the day's tension was finally seeping out of her as she concentrated on what she was doing. The fifteen year old often retreated into cooking when she was stressed or trying to deal with things. Today had been an exceptionally stressful day for her and so she had done what she normally did.

It was the sensation of being watched that drew Makoto out of her zone. Pausing slightly in her work, she turned and looked over her left shoulder and found her sister regarding her oddly. "Hey."

"What are you doing, Onee-chan?" Chiyo asked while coming in and looking into the bowl.

"Baking."

"Home Ec. test tomorrow, ne?" the youngster guessed.

"No, but it helps relax me and I love doing this for the people I care about." She gave her sister a one-armed hug.

"'Nee-chan..." the preteen began, "Uh... about this morning."

"Chi-chan," the tall teen said gently, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I was just out of sorts and took it out on you."

"Well, I didn't have to embarrass you like I did," Chiyo apologized and then looked shyly up at her sister. "Forgive me?"

"Of course," Makoto replied, and started stirring the batter.

"I'm not mad at you either, 'Nee-chan," Chiyo pointed out which got her a smile from her sister. After a moment, she wondered, "Uh... Can I help?"

"Sure, you can, Chiyo. I'd never turn down my bestest imouto," Makoto said. "Grab an apron." Chiyo grinned and went to get an apron. Neither was aware that their mother was watching them with a smile.

# # # # #

It was sometime later that evening when Makoto was preparing for bed that she heard a tap on her door. "Come in," she called, tugging her sweater back down. Her door opened and her mom came into the room. "Hey Mom."

Her mother smiled, came in, and closed the door behind her. She then crossed to sit down on the edge of her daughter's bed. "Makoto, I'm sorry if I upset you this morning but... Well... Your father and I are worried."

"I know..." the teen answered while looking at her hands. She let out a sigh. "Listen, I... understand. And I'm not gonna see Toya again." That comment somehow generated a pang of regret. "He's not the type of guy I should be interested in." She looked up at her mother and added, "But it might take a little time to bring up." She regarded her mother again drinking in the image.

"Being a parent can be hard and we just want you to do your best. That's all we want for our daughters." A look of concern came onto her face as she saw Makoto's eyes mist over. "Makoto-chan?"

"Just a long day, Mom," Makoto said, "Tired..." She rubbed her eyes trying to fight down the sudden lump that wanted to choke her. "I just need a good night's sleep."

"Okay, Makoto. Goodnight." Her mother got up, gave her forehead a kiss, and after a moment, she left the room casting a concerned look back at her teenage daughter. Makoto sniffed, changed for bed, and crawled under the covers.

End of Chapter 6

Coming next in **Chapter 7 "Making the Best of It"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	7. Chapter 7 Making the Best of It

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "_To Give Warning_" are copyrighted ©2010-2011 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 7 "Making the Best of It"**

_Tuesday, May 10, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

**K**ino Chiyo, still clad in her knee-length nightgown, came sleepily down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. She'd go back up to her room after she'd managed to wake up a bit and in her mind, that took orange juice. The petite eleven (nearly twelve) year old came to a stop just inside the kitchen doorway that led into the hall when she found her sister there. "Wha...?" she croaked out as her still foggy brain tried to understand what her eyes were telling her.

Her sister was already dressed for the day in her blue-skirted Shiba Koen Junior High School uniform but was wearing an apron over it. She turned and smiled at her. "Ohayo, Chiyo-chan!" Chiyo shuddered. A chipper Makoto this early in the morning did not bode well for the world. "You okay?" She was now giving her a mildly concerned look.

"T-Ti..." Chiyo yawned. "Tired." She glanced around. "What are you doing, 'Nee-chan?"

"Breakfast," Makoto answered simply than supplied, "In ten more minutes anyway... And of course, lunch." She pointed to two neatly stacked bento boxes ready to go.

"Lunch?" the preteen asked dubiously. She thought that last night's cooking foray with her sister had been just a fluke. Even though she enjoyed it, there was no way that it could have carried over to today, could it? All the same, she knew her elder sister was only a mediocre cook especially compared to the prowess of their mother. Not that she herself was much better. 'Breakfast doesn't look too bad though.' One part of her mind pointed out, 'It smells good anyway.' Gingerly, she opened the top bento box and inspected its contents.

"Nani?"

"Is it real?" Chiyo questioned. That got her an exasperated look. She decided to elaborate, "Um... I mean it looks like it's out of some food magazine or something, 'Nee-chan." The dirty look Makoto was giving her morphed into a huge grin.

"Well, Chiyo, I'm sure if you DON'T want it, Minako will," Makoto joked.

Bewildered, Chiyo vaguely wondered if there was anything stronger than orange juice she could drink. There was only one explanation. 'My sister's been possessed by a tanuki. That has to be it...'

# # # # #

"You're dumping me, Makoto?" Aino Minako was trying very hard not to laugh at the rather stunned look on Toya's face. She knew her friend planned to dump Taguchi Toya. Nevertheless, she just hadn't expected her to do it in such a public place. Other students entering the school building paused to gawk silently at the well-known senior year couple.

"Yes," Makoto said with firmness, "I'm simply not interested in you." Her task done, she started to push past the rejected beau but he grabbed her free wrist. Her other hand was still carrying her black school briefcase bookbag. She paused one foot slightly raised and she glanced down at his hand and then back up to him. "Yes?"

"You can't dump me," Toya growled noting the gathering crowd of students. Minako wondered what her brunette friend was going to do. "I mean you're just pissed about yesterday, ne? Things will get better."

"Taguchi-kun, please let go," the tall teen said simply. She didn't raise her voice; she didn't even glare at him. She just said it in a conversational tone with a neutral look on her face. Minako could see the boy's hand tense as if applying pressure.

"Mako-chan, can't we talk about this?" he almost whined.

"That's Kino-san..." She looked at her captive wrist again. "Will you hold this for me?" she asked Minako. Without waiting for a response from her friend, she tossed the blonde her school bookbag. The other students near the front doors continued watching the developing scene with growing interest. As Minako tried to field the bookbag, her ponytailed friend used her now free hand to grasp Toya's wrist that was holding hers. "Let go, Taguchi," she demanded in a stern tone. She still didn't raise her voice.

"Oh..." he began and then let out a gasp. Involuntarily, his fingers popped open and Makoto, smiling, lifted her now free hand and patted him gently on the cheek. "My type of guy is both a gentleman and good looking. I'm sorry to say, Taguchi-kun, you possess only _one_ of those traits." Turning, the brown-haired teen retrieved her bookbag from a dumbstruck Minako and wandered inside to change into her school shoes. Even before the doors closed behind her, the crowd of students who'd witnessed the bizarre encounter was whispering to each other.

# # # # #

"Mako-chan, is it true you dumped Taguchi-kun?" Makoto had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She'd been getting peppered with that question all morning. Now that it was lunchtime and there were fewer restrictions on the movement of students, she found herself surrounded by girls (mostly ninth-graders like herself) inside the school cafeteria. Since her arrival, she had quickly discovered that this timeline's Makoto was a more social animal than she was. Therefore, she had to say something. "Minna, why should I be interested in a guy that gropes me?" The circle of girls around her exchanged looks. "I mean _without_ my permission." That got some giggles and even made her blush.

A few minutes later, she ate her lunch from her bento box at the table as she listened to her friends (including Minako) prattle on about who might ask the now available star basketball forward out. She nearly choked when one of them asked whom she had her sights set on. "Nobody," she squawked. "I think I'll fly solo for a while... See what turns up along the way." That atypical statement set off even more speculation by the gathered group.

'Kami-sama...' Makoto moaned as she went back to her lunch, 'I wish I was eating lunch with Usagi and Ami. Things were a lot simpler. Usagi only talked about Mamoru, food, or how annoying Chibi-Usa was while Ami read a book.'

The thought of her Sailor Senshi friends made the brunette frown. 'They're the same but different here. Is it for the better though?' She mulled that thought over but hadn't construed a satisfactory answer by the end of the lunch period. As she pulled out the textbooks for her the next period, she pushed the question away. 'Not my concern,' she told herself, 'Everything seems to be going all right so far.'

Her initial confusion of this new timeline was wearing off bit by bit and while she still felt a little unbalanced at times, waking up to her own family was something that made Makoto very happy.

# # # # #

When Makoto met Minako after school, she noticed the blonde was looking a little sour. "What's wrong, Minako-chan?" she asked as she was putting on her street shoes, "Someone turn you down?"

"I wish," Minako replied with a huff. "I just have a lot of homework." She regarded her friend as they left the school building, "Ne Mako-chan...?"

"Hai?" the brunette responded while glancing at her friend. She was dreading that Minako was going to ask for her permission to date Toya.

"Mako-chan, I know..." The beribboned teen paused for a moment and then continued, "I know you normally aren't much into sports."

"I have a distinct disadvantage," the tall teen agreed ruefully while looking down at her buxom chest, "But yes, I'm not much of an athlete but somehow, Minako, I get the feeling that you're gonna ask me to sign up for something."

Minako blushed a little but pressed ahead. "Listen... Will you at least hear me out, Mako-chan?"

"Sure," was the response. 'I am so glad it isn't about Toya!'

"Okay, Mako-chan, it's like this. The girls' softball team wants me to come to tryouts next week..."

Makoto had to wait until they had skirted a knot of students on the sidewalk outside the main gate before she could ask, "But...?"

"Well," the ribbon-wearing teen admitted. "I can't play softball. It runs the same time volleyball does." The blonde paused. "Plus I rarely ever play softball."

'Then why did they ask her?' Makoto mused but didn't ask it. She rubbed her temples for a moment and then inquired, "So what does this have to do with me, Minako-chan?"

"Mako-chan, I can't play cause of my schedule but you majorly could. I mean you're strong and could probably knock the ball clear to Pluto if you hit it right." The tall teen opened her mouth to disagree but Minako hurried on, "Listen, please? Not only would this be a great chance for you to get on a team... which looks good but... Well, boys are more into softball than volleyball unless it involves beaches and bikinis. We'll get you a good sports bra and..." She trailed off.

'She thinks I'm on the rebound from Toya!' She didn't bother to confirm that assumption. Instead, she said, "I was actually going to look into joining the Home Ec Club." Makoto had been a respected member of the Home Economics Club at Juuban Junior High School.

"I don't think turning the school into a charred cinder will do much for your school record, Mako-chan. It's already looking grim with the _Go Home Club_ on it." Makoto stiffened and opened her mouth to argue but Minako was saved by Chiyo.

"MINAKO-'NEECHAN!" Chiyo called and waved as she spotted the two ninth-graders coming down the sidewalk. "ONEE-CHAN!" She gave Makoto a hug when her sister was close enough. "That lunch was awesome!"

"Lunch?" Minako asked curiously.

"Yeah, 'Nee-chan made my lunch today," Chiyo replied, "I was sorta dubious..." The fifth-grader blushed. "But after I tasted it, it was _majorly_ good... almost as good as Mom... 'Though you made too much."

Makoto shrugged but smiled. 'Not like I can tell them I normally make that amount because Usagi is usually staving by lunchtime and I wouldn't have any left for myself otherwise.' As they started across the road, she asked her sister, "So what did you do with the rest then, Chiyo-chan?"

"Shared it out. They loved it too, Onee-chan. Arigato," Chiyo gushed. There was almost a riot once they got a taste. "We're going to the shrine, ne?"

"Yeah, Mom said it was okay if I wanted to," Makoto said with a shrug. "I don't see why we shouldn't go and study with the rest of the girls."

# # # # #

Hino Usagi entered her bedroom in the private quarters of the Hikawa Shrine and found Luna staring out the window. "See a tasty bird out there?" The black lunar cat turned her head and gave the Moon Princess a dirty look. The blonde only giggled before pushing the door closed with her foot and starting to undress.

"Yuuichiro-kun was here earlier, Usagi." That made Usagi pause pulling off her uniform top. "He's looking quite good."

"That's nice," Usagi said neutrally.

"He's gotten over the crush he had on you last year," Luna informed her charge while turning around, "Cleaned up too."

"So why was he here, Luna?" Usagi wondered.

"Seems he wanted some advice from your grandfather." That made the pigtailed priestess roll her eyes. Her grandfather's advice could sometimes lead people astray if she wasn't around to moderate him. She knew too that Kumada Yuuichiro had always been an impressionable young man. "I see... What else is new?" she asked as she changed into some more comfortable clothing.

"Artemis and I have been picking up some odd signals from the Infinity Academy."

"Where Serenity's friend Hotaru goes to school?"

"Hai."

"Would that have anything to do with why Sailor Pluto and the other two Outer Senshi wanting to kill her, Luna?"

"I don't know, Usagi. The signals we're getting are diffuse so it's hard to tell exactly what's happening." The feline shrugged. "And we're not sure if sneaking inside that place would be a good idea."

"Maybe the Sailor Senshi should have a look some night," the blond priestess offered.

"We can discuss it this weekend," Luna agreed. "That'll give Artemis and me more time to sniff around."

# # # # #

Makoto headed up the stairs to complete the homework that she hadn't finished at the shrine. As she made her way to her room, she thought about the new bits of information she'd picked up that afternoon. Upon arriving at the shrine, she, Minako, and Chiyo had encountered Furuhata Unazuki, a girl about a year older than they were. She worked part-time at the Crown Fruit Parlor where her older brother Motoki (and one-time love interest of both she and Usagi) worked.

In their brief conversation, Makoto had been relieved to find out that Motoki was fine. While she'd gotten over her crush, she still liked the young man. It had been a surprise to find out that he was attending K.O. University; this was not the same university that Mamoru was in. 'I wonder how he feels NOT going to Azabu Institute of Technology?' She mentally shook her head. 'I guess it doesn't really matter.'

Unazuki had come to the shrine to buy a good luck charm for Motoki's new apartment located closer to the university. 'I wonder why Rei never said that she and Unazuki go to the same school?' Makoto had to smile as she finished mounting the stairs and turned down the hall towards her room. 'Then again, Rei's such a firebrand, poor Unazuki might have flown under the radar.' She had just entered her bedroom and crossed to the desk when Chiyo came slouching in.

"Hey, something wrong?"

"No," the twelve year old said as she flopped onto her sister's bed. "Are you done your homework, 'Nee-chan?"

"Almost, Chiyo-chan. I just have to finish up a couple of things I didn't get done at the shrine." She paused. "Why? Need help?"

"No, 'Nee-chan. I thought we'd walk out and rent a tape."

"Tape?"

"A movie?" Chiyo asked sarcastically while giving her sister annoyed look, "You know rectangular boxes with magnetic tape inside that you stick into a VCR?"

"No need to be grumpy," the teen retorted while glaring at her sister.

"You'd be grumpy too if you had to draw a map of the DPRJ for Geography!"

"Come again?" the tall teen asked as she started hunting in her schoolbag for the books she needed.

"DPRJ," Chiyo said mournfully. "You know... the _Democratic People's Republic of Japan_." The younger girl rolled to her stomach, propped her chin in her hands, and snorted. "Like anyone would care what it looks like."

Makoto was blinking. She tried to grasp what her little sister was saying but she couldn't 'So... when Grandpa Hino was reading the newspaper and Chiyo mentioned the DPRJ before... But what exactly does that mean? Are they like the Chinese?' She couldn't ask Chiyo without it looking suspicious. 'But I should know at least so I won't look stupid.' She grimaced. 'I guess I'd better visit the library over the lunch break.'

"Being snarky to me does not inspire me to coax Mom into letting us get a movie," she reminded the younger girl.

Chiyo blushed. "Gomen!" She looked depressed. "I could always just take a `F´ on it I s'ppose."

"Hey! I'm improving my grades so you don't get to flunk anything, Imouto. You're _my_ role model after all." That got a giggle out of the preteen.

"So, about going to get a movie?"

"I'm grounded," the teen pointed out. Besides, she wanted to hunt through her history textbook. 'That might save me a trip to the library.'

"Yeah but I'm not. You'd just be chaperoning me, Onee-chan." The younger girl gave her sister a pleading look. "Please?"

Makoto smiled. "All right, Chiyo. Go ask Mom or Dad if it's okay, and I'll be down in a second."

"HAI!" Chiyo shouted. She bounced from the bed and fled the room at top speed. It reminded Makoto of Usagi.

# # # # #

_Wednesday, May 11, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

The next day was overcast. It had rained on and off for most of the morning and the current pattering of rain against the school library windows was a backdrop for Makoto's research. It was a larger library than the one at her old school. She was standing before a shelf of a large bookcase considering what book she should select when someone approached her.

"What are you doing?" the voice from behind Makoto asked. The tall brunette nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped around and found Minako regarding her critically. "Are you feeling all right, girlfriend?"

"Minako," Makoto hissed while trying to slow her heart down, "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I wanted to know, Mako-chan," her friend countered. "I showed up at lunch. The girls didn't know where you were so I came looking." Minako looked about her. "And found you here in the library of all places." The look on the blonde's face suggested the room was potentially lethal. "Did you take a blow to the head this morning?"

"No," Makoto said with a huff, "They assigned my class a history project." Her fib had taken inspiration from Chiyo's essay assignment as a way to explain her sudden interest in the subject. "So I thought I'd come and grab a couple books before all the good ones were checked out."

"Oh dear, it's worse than I thought," the blonde remarked sorrowfully noticing the non-fiction texts she was near.

"Listen, Minako, I need good grades 'cause I'm thinking of asking my parents if I could get a part-time job," the brunette explained. "'Sides, aren't your parents after you about your grades too?"

"True..." Minako remarked, "But I just hate wasting potential boy-hunting time, Mako-chan."

"I'm going solo from now on. It's much easier."

"You're swearing off boys?" Minako sounded scandalized.

"For now... Considering my luck lately, I think it's prudent." Makoto turned back to the bookshelf and reaching up took a book. "Let me find two more, Minako-chan, and I'll come to lunch with you."

"All right, Mako, but I still say this studying thing is unnatural."

# # # # #

"Mako-chan!" the voice of Makoto's mother floated up the stairs, "Chiyo should be done soon. Can you go meet her?"

"Okay Mom!" Makoto called back. Using her pencil as a bookmark, she closed her textbook, stretched, and then stood up. Instead of going to the shrine for a study session, she had stayed home so that she could more easily walk to Chiyo's school to meet her after her Drama Club meeting had finished. While it might have been a good opportunity to do the research that she had been planning, her other homework took priority.

Trotting downstairs, the brown-haired teen got her jacket, pulled on her shoes, and called, "Leaving now, Mom. Back in a few!"

"All right, dear," her mother said, "Dinner's almost ready." Makoto nodded and left the house. She had just reached the sidewalk and turned right headed for Chiyo's school when a familiar voice pulled her up short.

"Usagi-chan!" she greeted the petite blond priestess, "What brings you over?"

Usagi waved but didn't answer until she was closer to her. The pigtailed teen was dressed casually in a set of pink overalls and a red sweater against the oncoming evening chill. "Hi Mako-chan. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, I was just on my way to pick up Chiyo," Makoto informed her. "What's up?" She glanced around and lowered her voice, "Something come up at the meeting?"

Usagi shook her head. "Mind if I tag along?" As they started walking together, Usagi confided, "I was just feeling restless and with you and Minako missing..."

"Minako?"

"Hai," she said. "I was wondering where you might be so I thought I'd come over and see how things were going."

"I think I know where Minako is, Usagi-chan," the brunette commented with a smirk. "Asia-kun was practicing volleyball. Minako said she'd head over there and tell you that I had to skip today's meeting after saying a _quick hello_ to him. I guess she got distracted."

Usagi giggled. "Ah, well that solves the mystery. I wonder if she'd ever tell him that she likes him?"

"I think he's already dating someone," Makoto ventured. "I don't think Minako wouldn't chase after him if he wasn't."

"Point."

"So did anything come up at the meeting anyway?"

"Nothing much," Usagi admitted with a sigh. "Artemis fells frustrated that he and Luna haven't been able to pinpoint a potential location." Usagi shrugged. "I mean Eudial drives a distinctive car so they've been concentrating on potential locations where a car could be stored."

"With no luck, ne?" Makoto surmised. "Well, look at where the Dark Kingdom had their secret entrance. Who would've thought it was behind a garage door?"

The blonde nodded. "Those were some of the first places they checked, Mako-chan."

The pair fell silent for a few minutes as they crossed the train tracks and then turned down the block containing Chiyo's elementary school. "So, if I'm not prying... How are you handling things after breaking up with Toya?"

Makoto grinned. "Sugoi! It's the best thing to have happened to me." She reached up and brushed a bit of hair out of her green eyes. "You know Minako figured I should join the softball team." That got a disbelieving look from her friend. "Yeah, I know, Usagi-chan... Can you see me running around the bases with these?" She glanced down at her chest. This produced a quick flash of envy and rather unladylike snort from Usagi before she started laughing. Giving her friend a rueful look, the brunette announced, "But I've decided to join the Home Ec club."

"Good for you, Makoto!" Usagi applauded with a smile. "A club is certainly a good thing."

"Oh, and what clubs are you in?" Makoto retorted. 'My Usagi was the poster child for the _Go Home Club_.'

"The art club," Usagi offered. "I might not be the best member but..." She broke off as they heard the squeal of tires as a car came around the corner at high speed. By the time they had turned their heads, the white station wagon was already alongside them. Makoto's eyes widened as she caught the flash of red hair. 'That's... no way!' The station wagon flew passed them and turned right sharply into Chiyo's school.

"**That was Eudial!**" Usagi exclaimed while immediately reaching for her communicator.

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked even as she was reaching for her transformation pen.

"That station wagon looks like the one she uses plus the the woman driving it was on the wrong side and she had red hair!" Usagi supplied before she turned her attention to calling the others.

Makoto paused for a brief moment. 'When did Usagi become so observant?' Shrugging it off, she glanced around, saw the street was empty, and lifting her pen into the air called out, "JUPITER STAR POWER, MAKE-UP!"

Usagi flipped her communicator compact closed, grabbed her own transformation broach, and spoke the words, "MOON COSMIC POWER, MAKE-UP!"

End of Chapter 7

Coming next in **Chapter 8 "A Knock at the Door"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	8. Chapter 8 A Knock at the Door

**To Give Warning  
><strong>By Douglas Helm and "_Tuxedo_" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "To Give Warning" are copyrighted ©2010-2012 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 8 "A Knock at the Door"**

_Wednesday, May 11, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

**S**ailors Jupiter and Moon dashed through the main gate onto the campus of the elementary school that Kino Chiyo attended and raced towards its main building. 'Where's Chiyo?' Jupiter worried when she saw that her sister was not waiting by the gate as she had expected. Her tension level instantly spiked. "Which way did she go, Sailor Moon?"

"I lost sight of her too," the golden-haired Senshi answered understanding her friend's concern. She then leapt from the tarmac adjacent to the main building upwards a full two stories before landing gracefully atop the fenced roof. As Jupiter landed beside her, Sailor Moon held up her hand and said, "Hold it... I heard her car! This way, Jupiter!" And she dashed across the deserted roof, her ponytailed friend easily keeping up.

"Kami-sama," Jupiter breathed as she realized in which direction they were heading, "The auditorium... **CHIYO!**" The auditorium was a detached building linked to the school's main building by a wide covered pathway approximately 100 feet in length. With a surge of fear behind her, the Jovian Senshi sprinted across the school's rooftop and leapt up and over the fence surrounding the edge landing below atop the path cover. Sailor Moon was only a second behind. The tall Sailor Senshi increased her pace. So much so that she was already on the ground and halfway to the auditorium doors before Sailor Moon had reached the ground.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Moon called out.

"Chiyo's still in there, Sailor Moon. If that bitch has gone after _my_ imouto, I'll fry her ass into cinders!" Sailor Moon could almost feel the electricity emanating from her friend as the tall teen ran as hard as she could to and through the auditorium building's main entrance. Sailor Jupiter didn't even register the fact that the double set of doors were twisted and smashed into the adjacent walls.

"It's not only Chiyo who's in danger," the Senshi of the Moon cautioned sternly. Nevertheless, her brown-haired friend paid her no heed. It didn't surprise her though. In her friend's view, family always came first. She silently pledged to be there for Sailor Jupiter as her friends were there for her when little Serenity (Chibi-Usa) was being pursued by the Black Moon Family.

As Sailor Jupiter ran down through the anteroom, her green boots clacked noisily against its hard tile floor. Suddenly, she heard a loud crash ahead and then nothing. Distracted, she nearly ran over the school custodian who was staring in disbelief at a set of fresh tire thread marks leading down the wide hallway. "A car," the man muttered still in shock. "A car just tore through here?" By the time he had finished his sentence, the teen was already well past him.

"Oji-san, are you hurt?" Sailor Moon paused long enough to ask but his response was cut off as Jupiter's primal howl of rage rang down the corridor. "Get out of the building! Hurry!" the pigtailed Sailor Senshi instructed and ran down the corridor in pursuit of her furious teammate.

When she arrived, Sailor Jupiter was standing at the rear of the auditorium glaring a look of pure death at Eudial. Sailor Moon quickly joined Jupiter as both prepared to attack. Before them lay a swath of broken audience chairs, tables, and other debris that stretched from the stage to just in front of the door. Chiyo was not immediately evident but they assumed she was near where someone's glittering Pure Heart Crystal floated.

"How tiresome... Another interruption to my experiment," the redheaded member of the Witches 5 said in a bored tone. The intruder was dressed in a white lab-coat and standing next to her station wagon with the Death Busters symbol emblazoned on its side. She was between the Sailor Senshi and the floating crystal. "DOORKNOBAR! COME FORTH!" she called.

"Chiyo..." Jupiter assumed and started to move toward the floating crystal but Sailor Moon grabbed her arm.

"Jupiter, we need to take care of the Daimon FIRST!" Sailor Moon insisted. "We don't even know for sure if that is your imouto." Jupiter's jaw clenched but after a heartbeat or two, she nodded stiffly.

As they were speaking, the back of Eudial's station wagon popped open and a cloud of pink smoke billowed forth. It quickly dissipated leaving a Daimon standing in its wake. She (or it since it wasn't really human) was dark green and purple. Its left arm held a massive steel police riot shield while its right arm ended in a large key-shaped weapon. "DOORKNOBAR!" the female-looking figure roared.

"Doorknobar," Eudial directed, "Seal this room!"

"Yes sir!" the Daimon snapped. It saluted its mistress with its key and instantly sprang into action. The Sailor Senshi tensed waiting for it to attack them but instead, the Daimon flashed from window to window, from door to door, sealing every possible exit with a solid sheet of thick steel. Even a mouse hole in the corner did not escape the Daimon's notice. As it flew down around the main room of the auditorium at a breakneck pace, the two Sailor Senshi were momentarily taken aback preventing them from promptly moving to the attack. In a flash, the Daimon was back at Eudial's side - the room was sealed in steel. "Mission complete, sir!"

"Very well... In the meantime, Doorknobar, make sure that these intruders don't interrupt me," Eudial commanded. She then started towards the floating Heart Crystal.

"Stop right there!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"Don't you lay a finger on her, you bitch!" Jupiter added angrily.

"You are interfering with a delicate experiment!" Eudial warned. "Doorknobar, take them down!"

"Yes sir!" the Daimon responded and leapt to the attack.

"SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!" Jupiter shouted. She flung a ball of crackling high-voltage electricity at Doorknobar. It let out a shriek as the attack struck its riot shield. The electricity flashed through the metal and the voltage surged across into the monster's body.

While Sailor Jupiter was dealing with the Daimon, Sailor Moon leapt towards Eudial. Spotting Chiyo on the floor, she instead interposed herself between the woman and the eleven year old's limp form. She spared a glance at the preteen before demanding, "STOP RIGHT THERE! I AM THE PRETTY SAILOR-SUITED SENSHI SAILOR MOON. HOW DARE YOU DROP THE CURTAIN ON A YOUNG GIRL'S HOPES AND DREAMS! IN THE NAME OF THE MOON, I WILL PUNISH YOU!"

The redhead gritted her teeth and then shouted, "DOORKNOBAR! TAKE CARE OF THIS LITTLE PEST!" The Daimon (still shaking off the effects of Sailor Jupiter's attack) leapt towards Sailor Moon.

"SAILOR MOON KICK!" Sailor Moon shouted and pivoting sharply, she smashed the heel of her right boot into the attacking Daimon. It gave a shout of pain and went flying backward. It toppled to the ground, rolled, and staggered upright. Both Sailor Senshi tensed waiting for the Daimon's next attack but instead, Doorknobar twisted around and clutched Eudial. "Sir, let's retreat!" she begged. "They're too strong!"

"Coward! Get up and fight them!" Eudial demanded. She attempted to kick the Daimon away but Doorknobar clung onto her mistress' leg and continued pleading with her for discretion. "GET OFF ME!" Both teens were confused by the sudden change in the enemy's tactics. They're momentary confusion allowed Eudial the time to kick off the cowardly Daimon, rip open the front passenger door of her station wagon, and pull out an odd-looking machine.

"What is that?" Jupiter questioned as she took up a defensive stance beside Sailor Moon.

"This is my latest invention - the _Firebuster Mark I_!" Eudial exclaimed, "And I will now demonstrate its power!" It looked like a futuristic bazooka with a black star on its muzzle. She lifted it into position.

"Quick! Sailor Moon!"

The pigtailed Sailor Senshi nodded and pulled out her Spiral Heart Moon Rod. "MOON SPIRAL HEART ATTACK!" she shouted and her attack flashed out just as Eudial activated her Firebuster. A pillar of fire lanced out and for a moment, the two attacks smashed together in the middle releasing a blinding light. Sailor Jupiter turned her face slightly; the Daimon cowered in front of her mistress, shield raised to block the intense heat from the flames.

The two attacks "_battled_" during that instant but then, the Spiral Heart Attack split the column of fire deflecting it out to either side. It struck the far wall setting the curtains there ablaze. Jupiter lunged and covered her unconscious sister's body with her own. She shielded Chiyo and her precious Heart Crystal from the intense heat and flying debris as errant flames consumed the combustible material within the auditorium quickly filling it with thick smoke.

Meanwhile, Sailor's Moon attack bore down on Eudial. Seeing this, she dove into the station wagon for protection. Doorknobar (who had just stood up a few feet in front of Eudial) stared in abject horror as Sailor Moon's attack raced towards her, smashed through her riot shield, and into her body. She exited the scene with a last desperate cry of "Lovely!" absorbing the attack meant for her mistress.

"BLAST YOU!" Eudial roared as she came back out of the car and leveled her Firebuster weapon to strike again. Sailor Moon raised the Spiral Heart Moon Rod to counterattack but then lowered it slightly as she realized that Eudial's Firebuster wasn't working.

"Damn you, Sailor Senshi! You've ruined my experiment! It's time to go back and review the data!" And with that, the redhead dove back into her car, revved the engine, and made for the main exit, which had cleared with the death of Doorknobar.

By now, Sailor Jupiter had retrieved her little sister and was holding the still-unconscious girl in her arms. "Is she all right, Sailor Jupiter?" Sailor Moon questioned as she turned to regard her.

"I-I don't know, Sailor Moon," her brunette companion replied anxiously. "This smoke can't be good for her and she's not waking up! We better get out of here pronto!" The building by now was fully engulfed; its fire sprinklers were having little effect against the intense flames. The school's fire bells were ringing. After taking a quick look around for the best exit from the burning building, Jupiter with her kid sister in her arms ran for it with Sailor Moon right behind her.

# # # # #

Kino Makoto (back in her civilian guise) rushed home as soon as the ambulance carrying her sister had left the school grounds. She was still wearing her blue-skirted Juuban Junior High School uniform. By that point, the fire department was making quick work of what remained of the school auditorium fire. The teen had been more than a little irritated with the ambulance attendant for refusing to allow her to accompany her sister to the hospital. Something about being a "_minor child_".

When she reached her home, the tall teen burst through the front door and called out, "Mom! Dad!"

Her parents quickly came into the front hall looking concerned. "Where's Chiyo?" her mother demanded, noting that Makoto didn't have her little sister with her.

"On the way to the hospital," Makoto answered frantically. This drew immediate exclamation from both her parents. "Hurry! I'll explain everything on the way..." the brunette trailed off as she noticed her father shaking his head.

"Makoto, what happened to your sister?" her mother demanded.

"No time," the fifteen year old shot back.

"Yes, there is," her father said in a tone she'd last heard as a ten year old child. "You'll explain now, Makoto." He came to stand before his eldest daughter putting his hands on her shoulders. "If she's on the way to the hospital like you said, then she's in good hands and you can take a few moments to explain it to us _coherently_." Makoto gritted her teeth but then relaxed when she saw the strained look on her mother's features.

"Makoto, what do you mean your sister is in the hospital? What happened?" her mother demanded. Her hands were twisting together but she sounded oddly calm.

"Okaa-san, Otou-san, there was a fire in the auditorium at Chiyo's school." 'I better not mention Eudial and the Sailor Senshi.' "Chiyo got out okay but she was unconscious. The paramedic who I talked to thought she might have gotten some smoke into her lungs. So they took her to the hospital for a check-up. They wouldn't let me come along too."

"But she's all right, ne?" her mother asked her anxiously.

"Hai," her daughter assured her. "She's fine. Chiyo came around a few minutes later. She was coughing a bit. She was really ticked off that her new CD got toasted in the fire." She mentally grimaced. 'Chiyo's also mad 'cause she missed seeing the Sailor Senshi in action. Better not tell Mom and Dad that either.' Mentally shaking her head, she continued, "Look, Mom, I'm sure she'll be fine. She thinks she's had a grand adventure. She can't wait to tell her friends about it." That actually seemed to calm her mother.

"I'm not surprised," her mother said with more resignation than worry in her voice now. "Your sister was always more of a tomboy than you, Makoto." This offhanded remark took Makoto by surprise.

"Are you okay, Mom?" she asked in a worried tone, "You seem awful calm."

Her mother patted her hand. "Mako-chan, finding a note one morning from your daughter saying, `_Off to climb Mount Fuji. Love Chiyo_,´ tends to toughen your nerves a bit."

'Mount Fuji?' Makoto wondered.

"Well, we should go to the hospital," her father decided and moved to put his street shoes on.

"Right, Dad," the ponytailed teen agreed. "Let's get a move on. I wanna see how Chiyo's doing."

"I think you're father meant just him and me, dear," her mother clarified. "You stay here, finish your homework, and rest. We'll go check on Chiyo." When Makoto looked as if she were about to argue, her mother shook her head. "No, Makoto, you're a bit too strung out at the moment and what your imouto needs right now is peace and quiet. It'll be hard enough for the hospital staff to keep your sister out of mischief without your worry enhancing `_Chiyo's adventure_.´"

The fifteen year old argued but despite her best efforts, the Sailor Senshi of Jupiter found herself left at home and fuming. So she did what she normally did when she needed to work off stress, she cooked.

The brunette had just finished measuring out some olive oil when her Senshi communicator went off. Pulling it out of her subspace pocket, she flipped it open. "Hi girlfriend!" Minako's voice sang out of the device. "Gomen, I missed the fun. Mom and Dad caught me sneaking out..." The ribbon-wearing blonde visibly winced. "That was not a fun conversation to have."

"Grounded, ne?" Makoto assumed while leaning against the cupboard. It vaguely occurred to her that possibly that being grounded also played a contributing factor to why she had been left at home.

"Nope!" Minako looked entirely too smug for her own good. "I told them I heard on the news that Chiyo's school was on fire and I knew that she was rehearsing today so I just wanted to go down and make sure she was okay." The blonde took a breath. "So IS Chi-chan all right?"

"I think so, Minako-chan. My folks wouldn't let me come with them to the hospital to see her," the brunette huffed. "This is majorly frustrating. They're not back yet. They must be planning to keep Chiyo there overnight. She'll be scared." 'Did they find something _really_ wrong with her?'

Minako made a sympathetic noise. She knew it was her best friend who was scared. Hopefully to distract her, she asked, "Did the others make it in time, Mako-chan?"

"No... Well, yes but there was a problem."

"What problem?" Artemis demanded, his head coming into view of the Senshi communicator's camera.

"That crazy Daimon sealed all of the entrances. According to Sailor Mercury, even a mouse hole got covered. Anyway, Minako-chan, the building was sealed up tighter than a tick and the other Sailor Senshi couldn't get in until it was all over." 'I'm glad Sailor Moon and I made it inside before that. I don't want to think what would've happened if...'

"I don't feel so bad about not being able to get there," Minako commented. "By the time I got away from my 'rents, Usagi had already called to say it was over." The ribbon-wearing teen pouted a bit. "Is it true what Ami said, Mako-chan?"

"Nani? What did she say?" Makoto inquired.

"That Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were there?"

"They were?" The tall Sailor Senshi frowned. "Well, I didn't see them." Which was a good thing. She had a serious grudge against the blond Outer Senshi.

"That's what our brainiac teammate said," Minako explained. "Tell you what... I'll swing by the hospital and say hello to Chiyo and get her side of the story."

"And just how are you going to get in, Minako? I doubt they'll let non-family members see her." 'They didn't even want me there.' "And it's starting to get past visiting hours."

"Simple, girlfriend," Minako said airily. "I'll just reprise my role as `_Nurse Minako_´ bringing the healing arts to those I love!" Before Makoto could argue, her friend declared, "Ta! Ta! I'll talk to you later! Ja!" And with that, the little screen went blank.

"Minako!" 'The hospital isn't going to survive,' Makoto worried as she turned back to her cooking, 'Come to think of it. With Chiyo and my parents around... Did Minako get to inflict her healing on me?' The tall brunette shuddered. 'Maybe I don't want to know.'

# # # # #

Kino Chiyo was bored, she was VERY bored. 'Cheapskate parents!' she thought to herself for the millionth time as she lay in her bed in a room in the hospital pediatrics ward staring up at the ceiling. She had a D5W IV drip running into her left wrist. 'They could have sprung for a TV!' The preteen couldn't quite believe that her parents wanted her to rest rather than watch television.

She was just considering how she could possibly wangle a set when her room's door opened. Her head turned to find a young nurse with long blond hair entering her room. 'Boy, she needs a new uniform,' the chestnut-haired girl thought. 'It must've shrunk in the dryer. Poor girl...' She remembered that Makoto had done that once and her mother went ballistic after she found out. "Konbanwa kangofu-san."

"And how's my _favorite_ young patient doing?" asked a familiar cheerful voice.

"Minako-oneechan!" Chiyo squeaked in total shock, "W-What are you doing here?"

"I came to check up on _my_ imouto of course!" Minako replied with a grin and she came over to hug the preteen. "And to help get you feeling better."

"Uh... That's okay, Minako-'nee." She coughed. "Gomen. I'm just supposed to be resting," Chiyo explained and was suddenly grateful that she didn't have a TV in the room. The younger girl remembered all too clearly what a disaster that her sister's best friend's good-natured attempts at helping them had turned into the last time the Kino family had been struck ill with the flu. Their television didn't survive the encounter. 'I've never seen Mama so mad.' "My parents didn't even spring for a TV set since they wanted me to rest," she whined then coughed.

"That's not right, Chi-chan," Minako said while looking indignant. "You just wait. I'll get you one from..."

"NO!" Chiyo exclaimed, bolting into a sitting position with images of exploding televisions flashing before her. "No really, Minako-'nee. Thanks for the offer but if you did, my parents would give me the third degree. Besides, they're letting me out tomorrow."

"Okay, I guess you're right," Minako agreed. "So what exactly happened?"

As the perky blue-eyed blonde settled onto the edge of her bed, Chiyo settled back and began, "Well, the Drama Club had just finished our rehearsal for the play... What?" she asked when she noticed the face Minako made.

"Nothing," Minako said waving her hand dismissively, "Tell you later... So go on, Chi-chan... You had just finished your rehearsal."

"Well yeah, so the others left and it was my turn to do clean-up. So I'd just put on my CD - you know the new Mariah Carey one I bought last weekend." Minako nodded. "So I put it on the school's CD player and was starting to sweep up when I heard this sound. At first, I wasn't sure what it was until it got closer, and then I realized that it was an engine roaring. Then all of sudden this big car came bursting into the auditorium!" The girl's eyes got wide. "It swerved. Man, chairs went flying everywhere. I didn't think a car was that tough. So anyway, I asked if the driver was all right, you know, I thought it was a teacher."

"It wasn't though, ne Chi-chan?" Minako assumed in a hushed dramatic tone.

"Yeah," the eleven year old almost whispered. "The door opened and out pops Eudial!" She grimaced. "That b-witch started badmouthing my school so I hopped off the stage and then took a swing at her with the broom!"

"Whoa!" Minako exclaimed while her face brightened, "That's so awesome! You battling Eudial?" 'I wish I could've seen that.' Although she thought there likely was some embellishment on Chiyo's part.

"Onee-chan wouldn't like it," the younger girl grumbled. 'She thinks I'm a little kid.'

'True, Makoto would freak out for sure.' She could empathize with both sides. "Come on, kiddo. Makoto's your big sister, and she's just worried about you. It's part of her job as your onee." Chiyo seemed to understand and smiled. "Now I care about you too of course, but I know you're tougher than you look!" She gave Chiyo a thumbs-up. "So you took a swing at her then what, Chi-chan?"

"The broom hit the car and the brush end snapped off and went flying, then... and then..." The younger girl frowned. "I'm not really sure, Minako-'neechan. She hit me with something and the next thing I remember is waking up with this cute paramedic looking down on me." She winked at her friend.

"I bet Makoto was pissed," the blonde nurse observed while silently cursing at herself for being caught sneaking out and missing it. "She couldn't've been happy that her little sister was the target of the enemy. Makoto was thankful to hear that Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon saved you."

"That's what really ticks me off. I get zapped by that psycho bitch, I miss the entire battle, and the CD I saved my allowance for three weeks for was melted into a puddle of goo!"

The ribbon-wearing nurse was just about to respond when the door opened and another nurse came into the room. "Who are you?" the middle-aged woman in a nurse's uniform asked while pointing at Minako.

# # # # #

_Thursday, May 12, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

Chiyo was discharged from the hospital the next day and came home while Makoto was still at school. The preteen was a jumbled bag of emotions. She liked that her parents were fussing over her. Minako coming to visit her in the hospital the night before had been very nice. Usagi and Serenity had even paid her a quick visit in the morning on their way to school. She felt very lucky having such caring friends and family. On the other hand, Chiyo felt embarrassed for enjoying their attention. After all, she wasn't a little kid with a scraped knee. She was also ashamed she couldn't have done more against Eudial. And deep down, she was worried about Makoto's opinion.

Makoto's initial reaction upon seeing her kid sister back home alive and well seemed to confirm all of Chiyo's worst fears. The petite preteen found herself yanked up from the couch and enveloped in a near bone-crushing hug. "Boy when you had to stay in the hospital, I was really worried!"

"Onee-chan! I'm fine!" the auburn-haired eleven year old gasped out. She bounced back onto the couch as her sister let go.

"You stay right there, Chiyo-chan! I have a feast planned!"

Before Chiyo could say anything, her sister left the living room. 'Makoto is... acting weird.' The youngster frowned. 'Really really weird...' Sitting on the couch, she tried to decipher her sister's odd behavior of late.

# # # # #

Much later, Makoto and Chiyo were arguing. Actually, they were supposed to be bathing but there was more jaw flapping than body scrubbing going on. "I'm perfectly fine!" Chiyo insisted for the third time resisting the urge to throw her washcloth at her sister. "The doctor said I had a bit of smoke inhalation is all."

"Chiyo, you could've been hurt," Makoto growled, pausing in the shampooing of her hair. "What insanity made you attack Eudial?"

Chiyo's cheek blazed red whether with embarrassment or temper was hard to tell. "I can't believe Minako-'nee ratted me out!" Part of her was hoping her sister would be proud of her if she found out.

"She knew how worried I was!" Makoto retorted. "I thought something was really wrong! I mean Mom and Dad wouldn't let me come see you and they spent forever at the hospital."

"They were treating me like a little kid, 'Nee-chan," Chiyo huffed. "Jeez, it was Mount Fuji all over again." Actually, it wasn't. For one thing, unlike her adventure when she was seven years old, there was no sore bottom during the long train ride home. "I told Mama and Daddy to go but I had to pretend to be sleeping to get 'em to finally leave."

"They were worried about you, Chiyo-chan," Makoto pointed out. "And so was I. Messing with Eudial isn't some sort of game."

"You do it!" the preteen shot back.

"Because I'm a Sailor Senshi."

"That's another thing, Makoto," Chiyo stated, her temper flaring again, "You should tell the others that I know they're Sailor Senshi. It'd make talking to Minako a hell of a lot easier." Seeing her older sister shake her head, the preteen demanded, "Why not?"

"Because the others would think it unfair." When the gray-eyed youngster gave her big sister a puzzled look, Makoto sat up a little and explained, "Take Rei. I bet she would love to tell Shingo if only to get him to shut up and show her some serious respect." 'She's not that different from my Rei. Usagi always wished she could tell him and Naru so they would be proud of her.' She then commented, "He's got a major crush on Sailor Moon at the moment." Makoto was amazed how fast she had become acclimated to this new timeline.

"At the moment?"

"Well, he did like Sailor Venus but then Usagi saved him at the beach last summer," the tall teen explained. "And he's practically the leader of the Sailor Moon Fan Club! Minako would wanna tell Mei-chan too. Little Mei-chan thinks the world of the Sailor Senshi, especially Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus."

'Mei-chan is kawaii but...' "I think you're _way_ overacting, 'Nee-chan," Chiyo said after getting her giggles under control. "I mean it would make a lot of things so much easier."

"Well... It would and it wouldn't, Chiyo-chan."

"How so?"

The buxom teen slid back down and stretched in the warm water. "Well, I know you, Chiyo. You'd wanna horn in on everything. You'd probably want your own Senshi communicator and then video ga..." She was cut off by a soapy facecloth hitting her in the face. "Ack!"

"I can be mature and responsible! I can help you guys too!" the petite preteen protested with her hands on her hips. It wasn't fair little eight year old Serenity was a Sailor Senshi and not her.

"Says the girl who was going to run back inside a burning building for an idol CD!"

"I just have better music taste than you, Onee-chan," Chiyo sniffed. She neatly fielded the washcloth Makoto has tossed and threw it back.

A short time later, both girls were relaxing in the steaming water when Chiyo suggested, "'Nee-chan, why don't you tell Usagi-'nee at least?"

"Tell her what?" the brown-haired teen asked, not bothering to open her eyes.

"That I already know about who all the Sailor Senshi are. I mean she's the leader and all. She could decide."

Makoto took a long moment to respond and then stated, "Chiyo, just because you know who we are doesn't mean we want you planning strategy with us."

The chestnut-haired girl jerked into a sitting position and glared, "You think I'd blab to just anyone?"

Makoto cracked open an eye for a moment and then closed it again. "I know you wouldn't. I love you, Chiyo-chan, but this isn't a game. Letting you get more involved is going to make me being able to keep you safe that much harder. They already went after you once. You might get captured next time and no matter how brave you think you are, I'm pretty sure you'll talk."

The eleven year old growled, flung her damp cloth at her sister, put a towel around her, and left the bathroom muttering unkind things under her breath.

# # # # #

_Saturday, May 14, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

Kino Makoto sneezed as dust attacked her nose. Sniffing a little, she folded over the cloth she'd been using to wipe down the shelf, added a brief spray of wood polish, and went back to buffing the bookcase.

It was Saturday and the ponytailed teen was spending that afternoon cleaning. She had always found housework to be soothing and she needed something to sooth her. Her sister had barely spoken to her since she had stormed from the furo two days earlier. Their parents had chalked their youngest child's grumpiness due to the loss of her precious CD as well as the cancellation of her school play. While the auditorium would need extensive repairs (which would take months to complete), it had been in a separate building so normal classes could resume on Monday - much to some student's disappointment.

Makoto knew the real reason why Chiyo was angry, but the brown-haired teen wasn't willing to give into her sister. As it was, she still hadn't forgiven herself for not saving Chiyo sooner. She had forgiven her teammates for their failure to penetrate the auditorium quicker only after she'd found out the Daimon had sealed every entrance with several inches of solid steel.

"If you polish that wood anymore, Makoto," her mother's voice came from behind her, "You'll burn a hole in it." Makoto stopped, looked over her shoulder at her mother, and then looked back at the now gleaming cherry wood of the shelf. Grinning a little, she removed her cloth from its surface and took a step back to study her handiwork. Her mother stepped up beside her and after a moment asked, "What did this bookcase ever do to you?"

"Mo-om," Makoto whined. "Okay, so I let my mind wander." That got a raised eyebrow from her mother. "I was thinking about Chiyo."

"Don't worry, dear," she was told. "Your sister will get over it. She had a horrible shock and then to find out her play was cancelled after she and her friends had put so much work into it." She then grinned at her teenage daughter. "On the other hand, if Chiyo being angry with you can get you to clean like you did today, I'll have to come up with things for her to be sore at you about every so often." The brunette teen glared at her mother who laughed.

Deciding to leave the subject alone, Makoto began replacing the items that had come off of the various shelves she had polished. It took longer than it should have because her mother kept rearranging things. Eventually though, she retreated to the couch and waited for her mother to finish.

"Now where am I going to put these?" her mother questioned the room at large as she hefted two large books.

"What are they, Mom?" the ponytailed teen asked. She hadn't really paid much attention when she had initially unloaded the shelves.

"Photo albums."

"Oh gimme!" Makoto demanded. She sprung off the couch and reaching for them, she took the books from her mother and plopped back onto the couch. "Hmmm... Now let's see... Do any of these have baby pictures of you?"

"No, I was smart enough to hide them," her mother giggled. 'I'm glad Makoto is starting to take an interest in the family. Maybe she's finally growing up.'

"Ha! There's always one," the tall teen retorted and opened one of the albums at random. "Aww... Kawaii... Chibi-Chiyo-chan." She could easily tell that the photo was of her sister, though her hair was a couple shades lighter and there was much less of it in the picture, her big gray eyes were the same. Chiyo looked to be all of two years old in the picture. "Mom, why is Chiyo sitting in the sink?"

Her mother leaned over and considered, "Oh, she was taking a bath."

"In the sink?"

"She needed one, Makoto, and it was handy."

Makoto blinked but then looked at the other pictures on the page. Most of them were her sister with various people Makoto assumed were relatives. The page opposite was organized with pictures of her with the same people. Most she had never seen before. Flipping a few pages backwards, she paused for a moment and stared down at herself - a cute four year old. She felt a smile creep onto her face as she saw that she was perched on her father's lap. Beside them, her mother, looking much younger, was proudly holding her newborn sister.

Directly below that photo was one that took Makoto by surprise. She recognized the distinguished looking older gentleman. 'I thought Ojii-san hated getting his picture taken...' Makoto mused as she reached out to touch the photograph. What was shocking was that her grandfather had no cane and yet he stood straight and tall, and smiled at the camera.

'Is he leaning on something?' she tried to see if he was but there was nothing for him to lean on, nor was he touching anything for support. Looking up at her mother, she inquired, "Where's Ojii-san's cane?"

Her mother, busy with the picture of the four girls, glanced down and said, "I think..." She carefully slid the picture from the page and looked at the back. "Yes, that was taken before Dad broke his hip."

'Broke his hip?' the teen thought in puzzlement. "But... Mom, didn't he always need a cane?"

"Well, after he broke his hip, of course." She sighed a little then speculated, "Not being able to get around like he used to probably helped his heart attack along." She gave her daughter a sad smile. "And after Dad died so suddenly, well... Mom and he were so close... She only lasted a year after he died. At least, she lived to see you be born, Makoto. I wish you and Chiyo could have known them though."

'Died? But I was ten when...' Makoto mind was spinning. Trying to recover, she sought something familiar by asking, "Wasn't he injured in the War though?" Makoto wrinkled her brow, trying to recall the exact details.

"No," her mother said, "Dad said he had a few close shaves but he wasn't severely injured." She replaced the picture and then padded the album. "Come on, Makoto. Let's put these things away and then you can come with me to the market to buy some stuff for supper."

Kino Makoto hadn't heard her brain was yelling a question at her, '_Not_ injured in the War? _Not_ injured... And Obaa-san died when I was a baby? Oh Kami-sama, did I change the timeline?'

End of Chapter 8

Coming next in **Chapter 9 "The Chestnut Enigma"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved.


	9. Chapter 9 The Chestnut Enigma

**To Give Warning**

By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "To Give Warning" are copyrighted ©2010-2012 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 9 "The Chestnut Enigma"**

_Saturday, May 14, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

**T**he dying remnants of the sun peeked under the dark gray clouds that smeared themselves across the Tokyo sky. Rain spattered itself against windows leaving a misty stain.

Kino Chiyo turned away from her second-story bedroom window and crossed over to her bed. There she picked up a stuffed animal (which Minako had given her as a gift on her last birthday) and hugged it for a moment before making a face. Still loosely hugging the toy, the eleven year old departed her bedroom and walked down the short distance to her sister's bedroom. After hesitating for a few moments, she knocked on the door.

"Hai?"

"Makoto-oneechan? It's me. Can I come in?" the auburn-haired girl requested.

"Sure."

Taking a breath, the preteen opened her sister's bedroom door and stepped inside. Her older sister was sitting on her bed propped up by a couple of pillows reading a magazine. "Who's your _friend_, Chiyo-chan?" she asked with a grin when she spied the stuffed animal. Or was that a smirk?

Chiyo blushed a little bit suddenly wishing she hadn't brought the childish thing along. She shrugged and asked, "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing much... Reading," the teen answered while lifting up a several month old magazine to show the cover. "I found these when I was cleaning out the basement this afternoon."

"Oh..." She looked down at the floor.

"You know I won't bite, Imouto," Makoto ventured, shifting over a little bit and patting the bed. "Come sit down."

"Aren't you still mad at me, 'Nee-chan?" the petite girl worried.

"Why would I be mad at you?" the busty brunette asked. She was clearly puzzled by her younger sister's question.

"Well, you weren't talking to me and..." Chiyo began. She didn't really want to admit that she had been waiting for Makoto to apologize. The fact that her sister hadn't by this point was causing her some trepidation.

"Chiyo-chan," Makoto said with a hint of exasperation, "You seemed to... Well... I just figured you wanted some space." Mentally, she then added, 'I didn't want to put up with a Chibi-Usa class snit!' Telling her sister that would definitely complicate things and lead to all sorts of awkward questions.

Chiyo padded over to the bed and eased herself down onto it. "I guess I wasn't acting real mature, ne Onee-chan?"

"I suppose I'd be a bit cranky too if Eudial went after me... and I knew what was going on that is. Most people think it's some sort of far out dream." As the younger girl turned, pulled up her legs, and sat cross-legged, Makoto reached out and gave her a one-armed hug. She was a little surprised when her younger sister leant against her for comfort. "Listen, Chiyo, I know you want to be more involved with the Sailor Senshi. But I wanna make sure you're safe. Just thinking what that bitch did to you the other day still gets me charged."

"Maybe that's where all the clouds came from," Chiyo quipped playfully. The older girl just smiled and ruffled her hair. "I guess," she admitted as she reached out and started tracing a random pattern on the magazine's cover, "I just hate being treated like a little kid."

"You aren't, Chiyo," her fifteen year old sister assured her. "You're soon gonna be a young woman. Just don't be in such a rush."

Chiyo pushed herself up and gave her sister a mildly disgusted look. "Oh come off of it, Makoto. I'm just a little taller than Serenity but I'm four years older." '_Almost_ four years.' "Not only that but I'm still wearing a training bra!" She smacked her prepubescent chest. "I should at least be a B-cup given how big you and Mama are."

'I wasn't that big then. I doubt Mom was either.' "Chiyo... big breasts can be a pain, literally. They make your back ache; they can be a damn nuisance when it's muggy and..."

"But the guys love the fact that you have 'em," Chiyo interrupted. "I mean you attract cute hunks to you like bees to honey! Even Minako-'nee says so." She knew Minako secretly wore pads sometimes to compete with her busty sister.

"That's not necessarily a good thing. My recent dating history has been spectacular," Makoto sarcastically retorted. "Or have I misread the parental disapproval flowing my way?"

"You sound like Ami-'nee."

"Ouch," the tall teen squeaked and then sighed. "Listen, Chiyo-chan, if a guy goes after a girl simply for what's on the outside, he'll never want her to show him what's on the inside."

"Now you sound like Usagi-'nee, Onee-chan," the preteen accused.

"And is that so bad? Usagi's very perceptive." Silently, she added, 'In both realities.' "I should've listened to her." 'I bet she warned the other me.'

The chestnut-haired preteen settled herself back against Makoto and after a minute or so of silence, she asked a bit bewildered, "So you're saying all the cool guys are scum?"

"Not necessarily, Chiyo-chan. Look at Mamoru."

"Taken," the younger girl pointed out. She sounded pained in admitting that. "There's no way I'd find me that sort of Prince Charming."

"You never know," the older girl countered. "Look at Naru."

"Who?"

"Osaka Naru."

Chiyo wrinkled her brow in thought. "Is she some anime character?"

'The way that girl kept getting attacked by youma you'd think so,' Makoto thought but shook her head. "No, she... I never told you about her?"

"Don't think so, 'Nee-chan," Chiyo replied.

"Well, Naru is my age but around the time I became Sailor Jupiter, there was this Dark Kingdom General named Nephrite. He went by the name Sanjouin Masato. Anyway, he and Naru met up and they fell in love with each other."

"You're putting me on!"

"Nope. Whatever there was between them, it definitely was love. I'm not talking about the sort that I've fallen into either. I'm talking Usagi loves Mamoru levels."

The chestnut-haired girl whistled softly but then frowned. "You and the Sailor Senshi did finish him off though, right?"

"No, it was another General of the Dark Kingdom who set up a trap. Nephrite was double-crossed. He thought he was rescuing Naru but it was really a youma in disguise." She suddenly had a vision of Tuxedo Kamen suspended in midair while cold arctic winds screamed about them.

"You okay, 'Nee-chan?" Chiyo asked as she felt her sister shiver. She looked up and saw the strained look in on her sister's face. "Mako-oneechan?"

"I'm fine, Chiyo," Makoto said quietly, "Just... a bad memory."

"So is Naru in your class?"

"Not now," the teen replied noncommittally.

"But you sound like you and her were friends, 'Nee-chan." 'Why didn't 'Nee-chan mention her before now?' She knew most of her sister's non-Senshi friends at least by reputation. Could her sister really be talking about herself?

"I'd say we knew each other but not enough to hang out much and with her helping her mom run a jewelry shop and minding her little sister, she doesn't have a lot of time to socialize." Makoto surmised that Naru had not liked Usagi (her best friend since kindergarten) being "_taken away_" by her new friends (the Sailor Senshi). Nevertheless, considering how accepting the redhead was, she sometimes wondered if Naru had discovered her best friend's secret identity as Sailor Moon.

"Oh, that explains everything!" Chiyo squeaked.

"It does?"

"Sure, 'Nee-chan, you just love jewelry... even the cheap stuff." The preteen giggled. "So how old is her younger sister? Maybe I know her."

"Naruru? She's..." She hesitated. "Twelve, and just as adventurous as you are, Chiyo-chan."

"Really?"

"From what I understand, Naruru could qualify as a female Indiana Jones." At the questioning noise, she elaborated, "She's a bit of a tomboy. She loves finding treasures and stuff in antique shops. Naru says her sister's room is full of the stuff." Makoto was definitely not going to tell her _baby_ sister about how Naruru had dressed up as one of the Sailor Senshi to help a friend save a pawn shop.

Chiyo nodded but then a slow grin spread across her face. "Hey 'Nee-chan, why don't we go her jewelry store tomorrow? It's nearby, ne?"

"Eh?"

"Well, I mean it would be a fun treat for `us girls´ and you can always use some new stuff. I mean you don't wanna wear that old stuff that Toya gave you... but I could," she suggested with a gleam in her gray eyes. It wouldn't be the first time her sister let her have stuff given to her during a failed relationship.

Makoto resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm grounded, Chiyo-chan. Remember?"

"Yes but I'm not, 'Nee-chan, and I've had a horrible experience and if I whine enough, Mama and Daddy will let you take me shopping for a CD Walkman® and we can swing by Naru's mom's store." She winked.

"Chiyo, Mom and Dad are NOT gonna to buy you a Walkman."

"Well, they'll replace my new Mariah Carey CD at least."

"All right, we can go," Makoto agreed but her mind was spinning. 'This might work. Chiyo can get me out of the house and I can go to the public library to check out some of these historical references I've come across in the magazine without people at school wondering why I'm hanging out in the library." Given Minako's (and her other school friend's) reaction before seeing her in the school library, she didn't want to risk it. She knew Chiyo would be suspicious as well. The trick would be to piss Chiyo off just enough so she could be alone for a while. She did feel a bit guilty using her sister like this. 'I'll buy her a treat later to make up for it... Maybe Chiyo can hook up with Naruru and...' Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud peel of thunder. Chiyo squealed, flung her arms about Makoto, and buried her face in her chest shivering. 'Guess the kid hates thunder.' "There, there, Chiyo-chan."

# # # # #

_Sunday, May 15, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

Makoto stumbled down the stairs stifling a yawn as she went. She tugged her pajamas top and made a face. "I can't believe how muggy it got!" She was glad she didn't sleep in a brazier. She envied Chiyo to some degree not having to worry about such things.

"It's the rain," her father (Kino Takeshi) announced as he came down the stairs behind her. She lean in and gave him a hug. "Ohayo Makoto. I thought you'd be up early cooking breakfast." His tone was only half-teasing.

Makoto straightened and asked worriedly, "I missed my turn? Gomen nasai, Otou-san." She then bowed.

'She thought I was serious?' Her father's face twitched then he started to chuckle. "Of course you didn't, Makoto. It's just for the past few days you've gone on a cooking spree." He smiled and ruffled his daughter's hair. "I'm just surprised is all."

"Didn't sleep, Dad. After the rain stopped, it just got all sticky and no air. It was horrible sleeping last night," the teen complained around another yawn. She led the way down the hall and found Chiyo sitting at the breakfast table munching on cereal. 'Maybe I should've got up and cooked us a nice breakfast.'

"Ohayo!" she chirped. "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Ohayo Chiyo," her mother (Kino Hana) called from the kitchen. "Ohayo Makoto," she then said as she came out of the kitchen holding a slice of toast and a knife with some grape jam on it. "Chiyo, I told you no."

"Aww, but Mama..."

"What?" Takeshi asked as he settled himself at the table.

As Makoto was getting herself a glass so she could get some juice, she heard her sister say, "Daddy, I wanna go to Shinjuku so I can replace my burnt CD." There was about three heartbeats worth of pause before she added, "You promised."

"I'm sorry, Chiyo-chan," he explained, "But I have to go into work today. Can't you wait until next weekend?"

"On a Sunday?" Makoto interjected, coming back from the kitchen and sitting at the table.

"I need to catch up on some paperwork before we open, Makoto, and we're short-staffed at the office today so I have to help out the troops."

"And I," Hana declared before she bit into her toast, "Have no intention of going anywhere near Shinjuku today." It would be a madhouse.

"Then Makoto-oneechan can take me," the preteen suggested.

"I'm grounded, remember Chiyo-chan?"

That earned her a dirty look. "Please Mama? It'll do my lungs good to get out and moving too."

"Did you put her up to this, Makoto?" her mother questioned suspiciously. It wouldn't have been the first time.

Shaking her head and swallowing the juice in her mouth, the fifteen year old said, "No, Okaa-san. I only have one day left being grounded." 'I wouldn't risk it.'

"So you don't have another boy on the line?"

"Otou-san!" Makoto protested. "I broke up with that jerk Toya. I think maybe I should take some time to find a young man interested in growing old with me." She got up and started hunting for a bowl.

"Mako-chan?" Hana said softly, coming in behind her.

"Mom," the teenager huffed while not turning around, "I promise I don't have a boy and I didn't put Chiyo..."

"I know..." her mother cut in then barely above a whisper, "But perhaps you could go upstairs and put a bra on?"

Makoto froze and looked over her shoulder. "Nani?"

"It... IS just a bit noticeable, Makoto."

Blushing hard, Makoto nodded withdrawing her hand from the cupboard and heading for the hallway. "I'll be right back, minna." By the time she came back dressed wearing the missing undergarment, there was a full-blown argument in progress. The brunette teen stayed firmly out of argument that Chiyo was having with her parents listening with half an ear.

"All right, Chiyo," Hana finally relented. "All right. Makoto can take you out shopping today. You are NOT going to Shinjuku though, young lady."

"But Mama..."

"Even local residents need a map to keep from getting lost there, Chiyo," her father pointed out.

"Fine, Daddy," the chestnut-haired preteen agreed. "And I do really wanna pick up one of those CD Walkman players too. I'll need about ¥15000." She held out her hand expectantly to her father. Makoto wasn't sure what irritated her more, the fact that Chiyo wanted something so expensive or the fact that the argument her indirect demand cause was almost _pro forma_.

# # # # #

Despite the humidity of that Sunday May morning in Tokyo, the near July temperatures drew people out in droves to enjoy the nice weather, to spend some time with friends, or simply to shop. Sometimes, they also got lost. Such was the case for one fifteen year old girl named Kino Makoto...

"You're lost, ne Onee-chan?"

"No, I'm not!"

"Makoto, you've dragged me up and down this same block five times!" Chiyo whined. The preteen had a sneaking suspicion that her older sister was looking for a boy. 'Did he stand her up or something?' Makoto wheeled around to glare down at her little sister.

The petite girl was in "_kawaii mode_". She was dressed in a pair of pink overalls shorts, yellow T-shirt, and red sneakers. She had her hair up in cute pigtails and sucking on a small lollipop. The overall effect was Chiyo appeared closer to age eight rather than her true eleven years. "Chiyo-chan, you wanted to come to the jewelry store."

The preteen pushed the lollipop in her mouth over to her left cheek and corrected, "Yes, after we pick up my replacement CD," She smirked and rolled the lollipop to the other cheek. "And my CD Walkman!" She winked.

Makoto drew in a deep breath and held it silently repeating, 'I won't call her a spoiled brat. I won't call her a spoiled brat.' She knew her parents would have never sprung for something like that when they were still alive. "I still can't believe Mom and Dad gave you that much money."

The younger girl flushed and glanced away but after an uncomfortable moment, she explained, "While you were getting dressed, Mama told me that I'll have to do extra chores to work it off. And the first score under ninety I get on a test or my homework will mean it gets confiscated." She looked back at Makoto a little. "I was pretty bratty, ne Onee-chan?"

'Yes,' the ponytailed teen thought but suggested, "If you're that impatient, Chiyo, why not go by yourself?"

Chiyo pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and pointed it at her sister. "And have to learn the identity of your new boyfriend from one of my classmates? No way."

The brunette gritted her teeth for a moment. "**Kami-sama, I'm NOT meeting a new boyfriend!**"

"Oh come on, 'Neechan," the preteen observed dubiously around her lollipop. "If you didn't have a new fish on the line, you wouldn't have worn a uniform for CQD."

"CQD?"

"**C**lose **Q**uarters **D**ating!" the preteen elaborated with a roll of her gray eyes. "Isn't that what you and Minako-'nee call it?"

'What's Minako been telling this kid?' Makoto looked down and scrutinized her outfit: white sneakers, a pair of red shorts with belt, and a white crop top. In her opinion, hardly the outfit of a femme fatale on the prowl. "Chiyo, I wore this because it doesn't make me sweat and I like to be comfortable." The teen turned back to the examination of the storefronts. "I was sure it was here..."

"What was, 'Nee-chan?" Chiyo asked, apparently giving up on the boyfriend debate for the time being.

"OSA*P." Makoto glanced at her sister who just gave her a blank look. 'I don't think I have it wrong...' She had been to the place a couple of times with Usagi although she normally met with Naru at school or the Crown Fruit Parlor. Glancing around, she spotted a payphone and wandered over to it. Picking up the receiver, she dropped in ¥20 and dialed.

"Moshi moshi! Hikawa Shrine, Hino Usagi speaking."

"Usagi-chan," Makoto began. "It's Makoto."

"Oh hi!" came the blonde's cheerful response. "How are you, Mako-chan?"

"Good. Listen, Usagi-chan... What's the address for OSA*P Jewelry Store?" 'It's probably in a different spot in this reality,' she concluded.

There was a long pause before Usagi answered, "I've never heard of that place, Mako-chan. Is it new?"

'Never heard...' the teenager thought and then it struck her. 'Oh right!' She wanted to smack her head with her hand. Grinning a little, she fibbed, "No, it's been around for a bit. I think Rei told me about it. I'll give her a call and see."

"All right," Usagi said. "But let me know if you find it, Mako-chan. I don't mind looking even if I can't buy... And shopping for a wedding ring makes Mamoru nervous." She giggled.

"Sure, Usagi-chan. Sorry to bother you."

"No bother, bye-bye!" There was a click.

'Rei and Usagi switched places so Naru would likely be Rei's friend now.' She wondered how her hot-tempered friend was getting on with Umino Gurio. Ignoring the annoyed look on her little sister's face, the green-eyed brunette inserted another ¥20 into the payphone and dialed the Tsukino number. 'At least the telephone numbers are the same!'

"Tsukino residence, Rei speaking." She sounded irritable.

"Oh hi, Rei-chan. Is this a bad time?"

"Makoto!" Rei exclaimed and then said in a lower tone of voice, "Please tell me there's a youma on the rampage and you need my assistance."

"That bad, ne?"

"I'm about ready to borrow one of Usagi's ofuda to use on Shingo," Rei growled.

"Why not use one of yours?" the brown-haired teen joked.

"He's build up resistance."

Makoto had to laugh at that. "Listen, Rei-chan, the reason I called is do you know the address to the OSA*P Jewelry Store?"

"Never heard of it but if you give me a few minutes, I'll come help you look for it," the fiery brunette offered.

"Really? I thought for sure you'd know since Naru's in your class."

"Naru? Nuhuh, no one named Naru in my class."

Makoto frowned. "Are you sure? She's dating Umino Gurio." That declaration was met with a very pregnant pause. "Rei-chan?"

"Say that again? Umino Gurio... That nerd `_Googly Glasses_´ actually found a girl that wants to date him? Is she some sort of robot girl?"

"No," the ponytailed teen replied. "Listen, Rei-chan, I should go."

"Hang on!" Rei almost yelped. "Mako-chan, tell you what... I'll meet you at the Crown Fruit Parlor in ten, and then we can go window-shopping together. I need to get out of here."

Makoto was not interested in window-shopping but she couldn't think of a polite way to decline the offer. "Hai, Rei-chan. Crown Fruit Parlor it is then." Chiyo gave a whoop of delight and did a little dance. "I'll see you there." After hanging up, she turned to the preteen, "Why so excited, Chi-chan?"

"You just should've told me you were gonna _buy me_ a treat for being so mean to me, Makoto-oneechan," Chiyo declared with a huge grin on her face. 'And I'll find out who Makoto's new boyfriend is.'

'That kid's got more money than me and she wants me to buy HER a treat...' Makoto sighed, shook her head, and started down the street. 'No Naru? That's weird. I wonder who the youmas attacked if she wasn't around... And what about Nephrite?'

# # # # #

"Hi Ami-'neechan! Mizuno-ojisan!" Mizuno Ami looked up from a pamphlet she was reading to find young Kino Chiyo standing at their table with a big grin on her face. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Chiyo-san," Ami replied. "You seem to be doing better."

"I'm tougher than I look!" the pigtailed preteen declared. She put up her right arm and made a fist to make a muscle.

"What's this, Chiyo-chan? Were you hurt?" Mr. Mizuno wondered. Ami's father had a mop of brown hair that was hidden under a bucket hat and blue eyes.

"I was in a fire, oji-san," Chiyo stated dismissively, "At my school."

"Oh my. I heard about that on the news. Some crazy woman started it and the Sailor Senshi were there. That was your school? That must have been frightening."

"She was out cold," Makoto interjected, coming up behind her sister. "Konnichiwa Ami-chan... Mizuno-san." She gave the man with Ami a serious look. She'd never met her friend's father. She had only seen a couple of pictures of him in Ami's apartment. Moreover, Ami rarely spoke of him. As far as she could tell, Ami had a love/hate relationship with her artist father - mainly because he'd broken a taboo by getting divorced from her mother. 'Looks like the love side is on today.'

"Whatcha readin'?" Chiyo asked Ami.

"Nosy. Leave them alone, Chiyo," Makoto admonished. "Gomen nasai," she apologized and bowed to the two Mizunos. "Chiyo just sometimes..." Her explanation was cut off as the youngster elbowed her.

Ami's father just smiled at them. "That's all right, Kino-san. I'll let you two visit. I need to run some errands anyway." He regarded his daughter. "I'll pick you up from your mom's at seven, Ami."

The blue-haired teen grimaced, "Must I, Otou-san?"

"You promised," her father said sternly as he stood up. "You know she loves you, Ami."

"Yes, I know. Seven then... and please don't be late, Dad." Ami allowed him to peck her on the forehead and then she sighed as he left. Chiyo eased herself into the booth across from the blue-haired teen and asked, "Your mom's still ragging you about being a doctor, ne Ami-'nee?"

"CHIYO!" Makoto exclaimed. She was practically left breathless by the brashness her little sister was displaying.

"It's all right, Mako-chan," Ami indicated. She slid over and patting the seat beside her. "Take a load off." The tall teen did as she was told although continued to look disapprovingly at her preteen sister. "And it's not like it's a state secret or anything. Mom loves being a doctor, but I get faint at the sight of my own blood let alone somebody else's. I'd rather be a teacher. Besides, it's much tougher getting a good teaching position than becoming a doctor these days." Wanting the change the subject, she asked, "What brings you two out today?"

"I was looking for a jewelry shop I thought I heard about... I guess I was mistaken."

"Which one?" Ami asked.

Before Makoto could answer, a waitress came by and took their order. Once she was gone, Chiyo supplied, "Someplace called OSA*P, Ami-'nee."

Ami frowned for a moment, "I've heard the name..."

"Yeah, but where I thought it was isn't right," Makoto stated.

"Is there anything special about the place?" Chiyo asked her sister, "Besides, you knowing one of the family who owns it?"

"Well, there is the ghost," Ami said with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Ghost?" the Kino girls chorused together.

"That's where that murder happened a couple of years ago. The poor man had just arrived in town, opened up the shop, and everything seemed to be going really well." Ami regarded Makoto and continued, "I think that was the first appearance of Sailor Moon. At first, the police thought she'd committed it."

"What?" Chiyo yelped dropping the lollipop that she'd been in the process of fishing out of her pocket. It clattered to the floor and she dove for it.

"You're gonna get cavities, Chiyo," Makoto commented in a distracted sort of manner. 'So that did happen... Sailor Moon did show up at OSA*P and fought it out with a youma... but was it Ami said it was a he...' She mentally added it to the list of inconsistencies that was growing in her head. 'I wonder if the public library has old newspapers...'

"I guess they closed it down, ne Ami-'nee?" Chiyo assumed.

"Oh no, it's still open," the blue-haired teenager stated confidently. 'After all, Serenity reset things after everybody died.' "The Osaka Family is running it still."

Chiyo reemerged with the lollipop firmly in her mouth. "Wow, I wonder if the previous owner was related to that girl you were looking, Mako-'neechan?" she wondered aloud. At Ami's blank look, she offered, "Apparently, 'nee-chan knows this Osaka Naru who's dating that geeky guy from your school."

"Umino?" When gray-eyed preteen nodded, the normally resigned genius girl burst into an uncharacteristic fit of giggles.

End of Chapter 9

Coming next in** Chapter 10 "_Brave New World_"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved


	10. Chapter 10 Brave New World

**To Give Warning**

By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "To Give Warning" are copyrighted ©2010-2012 ShoujoFiction .com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl.

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website.

**Chapter 10 "Brave New World"**

_Sunday, May 15, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

**K**ino Hana left her place at the kitchen counter and stuck her head into the hall when she heard the front door opening. "Hey you two!" she said by way of greeting as her two daughters (Chiyo and Makoto) entered the house. "How was the shopping trip?"

"My feet hurt!" her youngest daughter complained. The petite eleven year old pulled her shoes off, dropped them to the floor, and then made a beeline towards her mother. "We must've looked in _every_ store in Tokyo."

"Not quite," Makoto interjected as she sat Chiyo's shoes neatly on the mat beside hers and her parents in the entry hall. "We kept out of Shinjuku just like you said, Mom." She followed her sister down the hall and hugged her mother for a moment. "We met up with Ami and Rei and then we went trawling to see if we could nab any bargains."

"And did you `_nab_´ any, Makoto?" she asked her eldest while wrapping a comforting arm around her youngest who was leaning heavily against her. "That reminds me... Where's your big purchase, Chiyo?" 'Might as well see the expensive new toy she talked us into.'

The exhausted preteen made a face, dug in her pocket, and came up with her wallet. She opened it with one hand and took out the stack of ¥1000 bills that her father had given her that morning. "Here, Mom."

"Nani? After all that fuss you put up, you DIDN'T buy that CD player?"

Chiyo gave her sister an indignant look and then simply shook her head before explaining, "I wanna earn the money myself, Mama. Maybe by the time I have enough, it'll be cheaper. I don't really need it right now. I only bought the replacement Mariah Carey CD." 'I just hope I'll have someplace to play it.' She pulled it out of a bag to show her mother the shrink-wrapped item. Deciding to change the subject, she asked, "When's supper?"

"In an hour or so, Chiyo," Hana indicated. 'I'm so proud of you.' Chiyo gave her one more hug and then the girl wandered back down the hall and headed upstairs to her bedroom. "Is she all right, Makoto?"

"Yeah, Mom," Makoto assured her, "We did do a lot of store trawling today. I suppose she's not quite ready yet for the _big leagues_." She giggled.

"Not that I'm complaining but I thought Chiyo's heart was set on a new CD player," her mother commented as she pocketed the money that Chiyo had given her.

The tall teen sighed and ran the fingers of her right hand through her hair. "I think Chiyo gets that WANTING something and NEEDING it are different, Mom. If she earns the money herself, it'll mean more to her." 'I'm kinda proud of my imouto.' Makoto shrugged. "Ami was moaning today that her dad wouldn't buy her a Jumbo Draw ticket but Rei said that she wouldn't want the money from a lottery."

"I don't know, Makoto... There's quite a chunk of change to be won in the _Dream Jumbo Draw_," Hana mused. She and her husband had purchased ten tickets for the quarterly national drawing.

"That's what I was thinking too, Mom. It would go a long way around here," Makoto agreed while moving into the kitchen proper. She retrieved a glass from the cupboard and turned back to her mother. "Minako and Chiyo said so too but then Rei said she would rather earn the money since it'd mean more to her." The teen filled the glass with water while thinking, 'That's so strange. Rei always wanted to be famous but would she want to be famous and poor?'

"And what did your friend Minako say to that?" her mother asked as she came over to lean against the counter beside Makoto. While she liked the perky ribbon-wearing blonde and believed she was generally a good girl, she was sometimes annoyed with the fickle teen's influence on her daughters, especially on Chiyo.

The brunette chuckled. "Minako said that she wouldn't care where money came from as long as she got to spend it on _cool stuff_." She took a sip of water. "I think Rei's just opposed to lotteries on principle."

Hana nodded. 'Why am I not surprised?' She allowed the matter to rest. "Is your homework done, Makoto?"

"Hai," the teen answered.

There was something in her daughter's tone that made the forty-something woman think Makoto wasn't being completely sincere because she prodded, "Makoto...?"

"I'm done, Mom! You can check it if you wanna," Makoto protested, taking another pull from her glass of water. "It's just... I'm trying to find something out but every time I show up at the library, Minako and the others think I'm meeting a boy or I'm sick or I've been kidnapped by aliens." She made a face. The teen had to suppress a laugh. 'It actually did happen!' She was not going to tell her mother that however.

"What are you trying to find out? Maybe I can help."

"Well..." the teen began, paused, and then hedged, "The Emperor's birthday... for history class."

Hana blinked. "Uh... You mean Hirohito?"

'Hirohito, not Akihito?' "Um, yeah..." Makoto agreed. Like most Japanese, she knew very well when Emperor Akihito's birthday was celebrated (December 23) being a national holiday but it would be a way to answer her mother without raising suspicion.

"That's a hard one, Makoto." She tapped her lips. "I was never a big history buff. Your grandmother would know if she were still alive, Kami-sama rest her soul. I remember the date he died though."

"Oh?" Makoto asked, raising the glass to drain the rest of its contents.

"December 26, 1947."

Makoto (startled by this date) choked and spewed water out her nose. "What?" she squeaked as she groped for a paper towel to mop up her mess. Crouching a little, she cleaned her face.

"I remember because your grandfathers argued over it at our engagement dinner," her mother explained. "Dad thought he should have given into the Americans' demands sooner. Maybe they wouldn't have executed him. Your other grandfather thought he should have kept fighting longer and died with honor. The way they were going at it your dad and I thought they were going to cancel our marriage over it."

Makoto only half-heard what her mother was saying. She was still trying to grapple with the date. 'Kami-sama! **Emperor Shōwa died when I was a kid, not 1947!**' She still remembered the huge state funeral they held for him five years ago. If the war had continued on well into 1946, then that was a significant difference. Was Emperor Akihito even alive in this universe?

"Makoto?"

"Oh gomen, Mom... Thanks for telling me. That will help with my assignment." She smiled and set her empty glass in the sink. "Do you want some help with dinner?"

"Sure, Makoto. Would you please go check on Chiyo first though?" 'Makoto's really turned her life around in the last few days.'

"Hai... She's probably just catching a catnap." With that, the teenager left the kitchen and headed for the stairs but her mind was whirling.

# # # # #

Later that night, Makoto was sitting next to her dresser in her pajamas brushing out her long brown hair. Normally, she found this task to be tedious but tonight, she didn't even notice as her hands automatically worked out the various tats and tangles. 'I just thought there were minor differences in the girls...' She had to snort at that thought. 'Well, if having a completely new family is a _minor_ difference... But I didn't think the changes went that far back.'

Once she had a solid date as a foundation, Makoto had found it easier to glean some of the information she needed to determine how skewed the timeline was relative to hers. Still, she was no Ami when it came to research. While her school's history texts did a good job of painting the broad picture, she was missing a lot of the nuance and fine details. Moreover, her spotty memory of that period from her Japanese history classes didn't help matters.

'Something during the War changed and it ended later,' Makoto thought unconsciously frowning as she worked a tangle out. 'It didn't end until around October 1946...' This was a contradiction. Every Japanese school child knew the War ended in 1945 immediately after the atom bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial was a popular school field trip destination.

In this new timeline though, those attacks did not happen. Instead, she had discovered that a simultaneous invasion of Hokkaido by the Russians and Kyushu by the Americans occurred in March 1946. It was called "_Operation Downfall_". Both sides steadily advanced over the ensuing months. The atom bomb was never used on Japan ensuring a protracted and bloody conflict on two fronts. Multitudes of people died of starvation and disease as well as the incessant bombing (using conventional weapons) who hadn't before. Eventually, Japan was left with no other choice but to capitulate or be utterly destroyed like its Nazi counterpart. 'Because of his steadfast refusal to bend for so long, they put Emperor Shōwa on trial. He was convicted and executed for war crimes along with most of his surviving Supreme War Council.' Things had rippled out from there. The Emperor's untimely death; the complete elimination of the Imperial Class. '**What did I do to cause all that?**'

What Makoto was struggling more with though were the more near present events. The fact that following the War, Japan had been divided by the occupying Allied Forces into something resembling East and West Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain with the Communists on the one side and non-Communists on the other. In this alternate world however, the Iron Curtain never fell and the Soviet Union was still alive and well in 1994. Both Germany and Japan were divided nations and the Cold War raged on between the two superpowers.

She had discovered that Tokyo Prefecture (where she lived) was part of South Japan or more properly, the _Federal Republic of Japan_ (as she learned the South was called). While she knew she wouldn't want to live under the tyranny of the communist _Democratic People's Republic of Japan_ in the North, the teen wasn't sure she liked its alternative in the South either. She supposed this universe's Kino Makoto didn't think anything unusual of a divided Japan. She had been born into it. But she wasn't that Kino Makoto.

"If I was Usagi, I'd want to go tearing off into space-time and fix things," Makoto remarked while staring at her closed bedroom door. "I don't have a Time Key, and even if I did..." Could she give up her loving family and go back to living alone?

She stopped talking to herself and turned to face her bedroom window when she thought she heard something. After listening carefully, she realized that there was indeed a tapping at her window.

Puzzled, Makoto got up and headed around her bed to the window. She paused just before it wondering if Luna and/or Artemis had come to talk. She doubted that Chibi-Usa would be paying her another visit after what happened. The brunette with her hair still down glanced down to make sure she wouldn't be giving anyone a show and pulled aside the curtain.

It took the fifteen year old a moment to realize what she was seeing. There sitting on a branch of the tree outside of her second floor bedroom window was Sailor Mercury. It took even longer moment for her to react. Reaching out, she unlocked and levered the window open. "Mercury?" she asked as her blue-haired friend dropped into the room and detransformed into Mizuno Ami. "What are...?" She stopped. There was a prominent bruise around Ami's left eye.

"Can I campout here tonight, Mako-chan?" Ami asked while turning to close her friend's bedroom window.

"What? Why? Who hit you?"

"I can't go home like this," Ami told her busty pajama-clad friend, "If I do and Dad sees this mess, he's going to get all bent out of shape."

"Ami-chan, who hit you?" Makoto demanded. 'Whoever it is is toast.' She reached out and took her friend's right upper arm. Turning her, the teen looked at Ami seriously. "Was it some boy?"

"Of course not," Ami huffed, tugging free of Makoto and going to sit on her bed. 'I'm not you.' "Look, Makoto, you know the drill. It's the same old story."

"Meaning?" Makoto prodded, crossing her arms and glaring at her blue-haired friend.

"I go visit Mom. She drinks a little more sake than normal and we end up getting into a fight." The shorthaired teen lifted her hand up and touched the bruise gingerly. "Tonight was just a little more heated than normal. Don't worry, Mako-chan. By tomorrow, I'll be good as new." Her Sailor Senshi constitution would ensure that.

Once again, the time traveling teen's world was jolted. She wasn't sure what her other self would have done and frankly she didn't care. She didn't like that Makoto very much. "Come on, Ami. I'll get you some ice and ask Mom and Dad if it's okay for you can campout here. Then we'll..."

"Are you nuts?" the blue-haired fifteen year old hissed. "Mako-chan, if your mom finds out, she'll tell Dad and then things will spiral out of control." 'She should know that.'

"**But your mom hit you!**" Makoto pointed out stubbornly. It was difficult to believe that the mild-mannered doctor she knew would do such a malicious thing.

"Makoto, can I crash here or not?"

The brunette took in a deep breath and explained, "Ami, I wanna help you... but I'm not going behind my parents' backs." 'Maybe Mom can call CPS or something... Get Mizuno-sensei some help.'

"MERCURY STAR POWER, MAKE-UP!" Sailor Mercury stood then and moved towards the window. "Chiyo's right, Kino-san, you've changed... and I'm not sure it's for the better!" Mercury growled as she reopened the window. Makoto opened her mouth to retort but wasn't sure what to say. That hesitation gave the smaller teen the chance she needed to leap out the window and disappear into the night.

# # # # #

_Monday, May 16, 1994  
>Azuba-Juuban District, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Federal Republic of Japan <em>

Makoto slept poorly that night. She was both angry and frustrated. Angry at Ami for being so unreasonable, yet frustrated because she didn't know if she could truly do anything for her normally introverted friend. As the eastern sky began to lighten with the first tendrils of dawn, the teenager reached over and shut her alarm clock off so it wouldn't ring in an hour. Sighing, she got out of bed. Then after quickly freshening up, she quietly got dressed in her school uniform.

When she went downstairs she was surprised to find her father was already awake and dressed. "Dad?"

He gave a start, looked up from his newspaper, and smiled. "I have to go into work early, Makoto. We're short of staff today and I promised I'd help setup and take care of some other stuff."

"And I was gonna make breakfast," his teenage daughter pouted.

He chuckled. "It's a good thing I already ate then!" Seeing the scowl from his daughter, her father amended, "If I ate your meals regularly, I'd weigh more than a sumo wrestler!" He winked. While his daughter was nowhere near the cook of his wife's caliber, he didn't want to disillusion her. He then finished off his coffee, got up, and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Have a good day at school, Makoto." He turned and left.

Once her father was gone, the ponytailed teen put an apron over her uniform and got down to work. Almost without exception, Kino Makoto worked off tension by cooking and today was no exception. She began with her and Chiyo's lunches putting all of her concentration into their preparation.

Even as she worked, Ami's enraged face and the various facts she'd found out about last night flitted around the edges of her mind. By the time both bento boxes were complete and properly wrapped, the tall brunette felt much better. She knew taking her typical approach to Ami's "_troubles_" wouldn't work and while she was starting to feel concern at the shift in the timeline, she couldn't fathom how it was related to her short trip to the past. There must be another explanation.

'I need to talk to Sailor Pluto...' Makoto frowned slightly as she put the bento boxes aside and started breakfast preparations for her family. 'But how am I going to contact her? The only times I've seen her, at least when she wasn't trying to kill Hotaru, was via Luna-P.' That made her frown a little bit more. 'Does this universe's Chibi-Usa even have Luna-P? And if not, how do I get a hold of her without the other girls finding out?'

She wondered for just a moment what the other Outer Senshi were doing. 'Sailor Uranus and Neptune seem to be pretty tight with Sailor Pluto. I bet they know how to get a hold of her. I wish I knew who they really were.' Another problem was that Sailors Uranus and Neptune seldom lingered long enough at a scene for her to talk to them. In addition, their attitude toward the Inner Senshi was less than congenial. A suddenly horrible thought flashed through her mind. 'Does Uranus work for the DPRJ?' She mentally snorted, 'Wonderful, something else to worry about.' Firmly pushing those thoughts aside, she turned back to preparing breakfast.

Makoto had just finished setting the table when her sister, still dressed in pajamas and slippers, appeared from the hallway. She looked fuzzy-headed and sleep rumpled. "Ohayo!" Makoto greeted her cheerfully.

"'Nee-chan..." Chiyo began as she blinked a few times and stared at the table laden with breakfast, "Are we having company?"

"'Course not! Now sit down, Chiyo-chan, and eat before it gets cold."

Chiyo complied but gingerly picked up the napkin. "Napkins? What is this, Onee-chan? A five-star restaurant?"

"It looks like it," her mother interjected as she came to stand beside the table. "Goodness Makoto. I think you went a little overboard."

Makoto grinned sheepishly. "Not to worry, Mom. I can always give the leftovers to Usagi. That girl has a black hole for a stomach." She completely missed the look that was passed between Chiyo and her mother.

"So what's the occasion?" her mother wondered as she sat down at the table.

"More like what do you want, 'Nee-chan?" Chiyo commented suspiciously, which earned her a glare from both of her relations.

"Nothing... I was feeling stressed out and thought I'd do some cooking!"

Hana examined the table, regarded her apron-clad daughter, and declared, "Well, I think your papa and I should look into getting a bigger 'fridge by exam time if this is how you intend to handle stress in the future." Chiyo giggled.

"You be nice, Imouto," Makoto warned her little sister, "Or the _Three O'clock Fairy_ won't bring you anything good to eat."

# # # # #

"Oh that looks yummy, Mako-chan? You're so lucky. Which hunk bought that for you?" 'He must've bought it from that new gourmet shop.'

The tall brunette turned her attention away from her bento box and regarded the questioner. It was a redhead who reminded Makoto strongly of teenage Miss Haruna (her last homeroom teacher). 'I wonder what Haruna-sensei is like in this universe?' Shaking the stray thought aside, she smiled.

"I bet it was Jun-kun." 'He must've spent ¥1500.'

"Oh please... Kino-sempai dumped him two months ago. It has to be Kuemon-sempai since he just broke up with that fluffhead Daishi Mio."

"Help yourselves, minna. I've made too much," she interjected and smiled a little sheepishly. 'I'm used to making these things for Usagi. I got so wound up in the prep that I forgot that I don't go to school with the "_human eating machine_" anymore.' That vaguely pained the teen.

"Are you serious, girlfriend? You made it?"

"Hai," Makoto indicated. "I needed a way to de-stress a bit."

"Why were you stressed?" Minako wondered. "Your parents didn't ground you again, ne?"

"Nope," Makoto said while shaking her head. She started eating her lunch again. "Just... stuff." She waved vaguely in the air.

"Ne, Minako-chan, I heard there's gonna be cosplay karaoke this weekend. Interested?"

"Hmmm... Any costume restrictions?" Minako asked in bright-eyed anticipation. When the inquirer shook her head, the blonde grinned. "Sure. Wanna come, Mako-chan?"

"Oh come on, Aino-sempai. Kino-sempai will have a new boyfriend _for sure_ by next weekend."

"Not likely," Makoto snorted. "I meant the new boyfriend bit." The sudden silence made the teenager look up and around. "What?"

"Jeez, Mako-chan, you're taking the breakup with Toya-kun awful hard," the redhead commented. "Regretting it?"

"Regret breaking up with that big jerk?" the brunette demanded. "Please... I'd rather date Artemis!" There was another shocked silence from the gaggle of girls around them and then they started talking again. Makoto shook her head and went back to eating her lunch.

After lunch during her math class, Makoto struggled to keep awake. 'I shouldn't have eaten so much; I'm getting sleepy.' She gave a silent moan when the teacher asked her to come up to the blackboard and solve a problem. Once the problem was complete, she went back to her desk. 'I wonder if I can get a quiet word with Luna? She seems to think I went on a mission for Sailor Pluto.'

# # # # #

They were walking home after school that afternoon when Hino Usagi stopped, took a deep breath, and counted to ten as Chibi-Usa voiced her magisterial displeasure. "Onee-sama, I can't believe you didn't back me up with Aki back there!" her future daughter whined. "You could've told Aki my bedtime was ten. It wouldn't've hurt anything." 'I was so embarrassed.' Not to mention, it might make her seem less special to her clique of friends.

"That would have been a lie," the golden-haired priestess lectured while shifting her schoolbag to her other hand. "Shinto teaches us the virtues of natural simplicity and honesty." She regarded the decidedly grumpy-looking youngster. Chibi-Usa's hair reflected the late afternoon sun making it appear even redder than normal. 'I can't believe she called Daddy and begged him for concert tickets.' "Serenity, you know I don't like lying."

"Yeah, but Onee-sama, now Aki might think I was fibbing about Ojii-sama getting tickets for me too!" the eight year old complained. "I have a reputation to maintain you know."

"You've been listening to Rei and Minako too much, Serenity-chan," Usagi surmised. "And I don't understand why you like Kaioh-san's music anyway." The elegant sixteen year old violinist and her handsome accompanist had become popular recently especially amongst teenage girls. She glanced curiously at the third-grader. "And I know you can't have a crush on Ten'ou-san like Makoto, Minako, and Rei do." 'At least, I hope not.'

"I'm a princess," Chibi-Usa sniffed. "My betrothal is set already." Usagi gaped at her in disbelief. Before the pigtailed teen could say anything, the younger girl continued, "'Sides, who says I can't have `_refined tastes_´?" She underlined this statement with another imperious sniff.

Usagi sighed and rubbed her forehead as they came to a stop at a traffic signal. 'Regardless, if I didn't think the idea was ridiculous, I'd think Serenity knows them from someplace... or some other time.' She smiled faintly at the implication as they crossed the street. 'Michiru and Sailor Neptune are nothing alike.' Then a bizarre thought hit her. 'If Michiru is Sailor Neptune, then that means Haruka is Sailor Uranus.' To even think the antagonistic (but definitely female) Sailor Uranus and the handsome young Ten'ou Haruka were one in the same. 'Preposterous!'

Eliminating those two still left a myriad of possibilities for who these two new Sailor Senshi really were. They seemed to have a different agenda than she and the Inner Senshi did. Nevertheless, the pigtailed blonde knew that pressing her future daughter for answers about the aggressive Sailor Uranus and aloof Sailor Neptune would be fruitless.

Once across the street, Chibi-Usa asked, "Onee-sama, I don't get why you're being such a youma about this. Ojii-sama said he'd be happy to pay..."

At that point, Usagi lost her temper. "Young lady, I don't want to hear another word about the concert or I'll spank you! You will call Daddy when you get home and tell him to forget about those tickets." This declaration was so out of character for the easygoing teen that the eight year old stopped dead in her tracks and simply stared at her future mother in shock. Usagi sighed. "Gomen, Serenity-chan. Come on. We're really late getting home Ojii-san will be worried."

Chibi-Usa hesitated but then started walking again. "You really hate taking money from your dad, ne Onee-sama?"

"Serenity... It's not just that... I'd like to go too... But I'd likely spend most of the time feeling majorly guilty that the other girls couldn't go too."

"Ojii-sama said he'd get a ticket for Aki-chan," Chibi-Usa pointed out hopefully. "Maybe he'd scarf some for Rei-'nee and the others too if we asked him real nice."

'Maybe...' "Listen, Serenity-chan, where is this concert?" When Chibi-Usa told her, she said, "I don't think Ojii-san would like you going out to a different prefecture so late on a school night." 'I doubt Rei or Makoto's parents would allow them either.'

"Transportation can be taken care of," the little girl quipped then winked. It sounded like something she'd heard before.

Usagi suddenly felt very old. 'Do all mothers have these types of problems?' The pigtailed teen didn't have any answers by the time they finally arrived at the private quarters of the Hikawa Shrine.

"You're really late, Usagi-chan," Makoto declared as the two Usagis came into the main room. "We were about to send out a search party for you two."

"I'm very sorry. Gomen," Usagi apologized and bowed. "Serenity was tardy getting to the gates."

"Boy, Serenity-chan, you look like a freight train hit you," Chiyo observed to the strawberry-blond-haired child. "What's up?"

"Onee-sama won't let me go to Kaioh Michiru's concert," she pouted.

"Oh wow!" Minako gushed with her big blue eyes wide as the other teens around the table looked up at Chibi-Usa. "I hadn't heard about a new one. When is it, Serenity-chan?"

"On a school night over in Yokohama... and it starts at 8:00 PM," the petite blonde announced, sitting down and bringing out her homework.

"I'd give _anything_ to go," Minako moaned.

"Me too," Ami seconded. "No way Dad could afford tickets and Mom..." She made a face. Rei and Makoto exchanged a knowing look.

"I'd like to go too, 'though I'm more interested in the technical aspects," Rei admitted. "But I couldn't afford the tickets on my allowance and my 'rents wouldn't cough up the money." 'Even if they'd allow me out past my curfew.' She then laughed a little. "'Though with my luck, Daddy will be sent there to take pictures for work and get to go for free."

"I still think I should..." Chibi-Usa stopped and gaped. "Ami-chan, what happened to your eye?"

Usagi, who'd been routing in her schoolbag jerked around to regard Ami's face. There was a fading bruise.

"I got into a fight," Ami fibbed softly. "I decided to walk home from Mom's since it was late and..." She shrugged. "It's not so bad and will be gone soon." She turned to Chiyo, declaring the subject closed, "Chi-chan, are you done those conjugation problems yet?"

"Almost, Ami-'neechan," Chiyo prodded.

"Speaking of homework," Usagi interjected. "Ami, can you check over some math problems for me? I think I have them right but..." She shrugged. The blue-haired teen nodded and held her hand out. "Thanks!"

# # # # #

After the meeting, Rei held Makoto back as they were going down the stairs. "Makoto, what did you say to Ami last night?" At the ponytailed brunette's questioning look, she continued, "She came over to my place spitting mad."

"So she spent the night at your place?" Rei nodded. Makoto let out a breath. "I was just surprised really, Rei-chan. And not telling your parents that one of your friends wants to sleep over, especially when I just got out of being grounded... seemed like a really bad idea."

"So what did you say to her?" Rei wondered.

"I told her that we should tell my mom that her mom hit her," Makoto replied quietly.

"You did what?"

"'Nee-chan, hurrying up!" Chiyo called from the bottom of the stairs, "Mama's making takoyaki! [octopus dumplings]"

"Oh yummy!" Rei declared with a grin. "I wanna come over to your place for supper!"

"Come on over, Rei-'neechan" Chiyo invited. "I bet Mama makes us lots."

# # # # #

Luna was sitting atop the retaining wall in front of the Hikawa Shrine. She had been gazing at the night sky but turned her head at an odd noise. With her yellow eyes, the feline watched as a police car made its way up the hill and over its crest. A noise behind her made her head swivel and a moment later, Artemis appeared.

"Luna," the white lunar cat said by way of greeting, "What did you want to talk about?" He hopped up on to the wall beside her.

"Makoto," Luna said, turning her attention back to the road far below, "Has... Has Minako said anything to you, Artemis?"

"You mean about how Makoto's been taken over by a pod person?"

"Pod person?" the black cat questioned.

Her opposite number sighed. "Minako likes watching television and the more dramatic it is the better."

"Oh, well yes. I've gotten comments from the others that Makoto isn't the same since her breakup with Toya."

Artemis eased himself down so he was lying on the warm stone. "Chiyo's mentioned it to Minako as well, Luna," he confirmed. "From what I can tell though, it's a change for the better." 'If only Minako would follow suit,' he silently hoped.

"Yes," Luna agreed, "I just wonder..."

"Wonder?" He turned his head and looked up at the black cat.

"I'm just thinking, Artemis, that whatever the mission was that Sailor Pluto had her on caused the change, not her breakup with Toya."

Artemis was silent for several seconds. "Did you say a mission for Pluto, Luna?"

She made a soft huffing noise and then remarked, "I don't have any proof per se except some very odd facts."

"Such as?"

"Well for one thing, Artemis, I don't believe that Makoto would suddenly want to borrow Serenity's Time Key for jewelry for a date. Nor do I believe Serenity would be so irresponsible to hand out such a powerful and potentially dangerous magical item to just anyone. You know how protective she is of it and the future. I'd be willing to bet Pluto ordered her to give it to Makoto."

"And?"

"And Sailor Pluto asked me to go meet up with Makoto last week at the park in the middle of the night. She was quite vague about why."

The white lunar cat's tail swished as he wondered, "Do you think Pluto tried to strike at Hotaru in the past without Usagi finding out? I mean since Usagi foiled the Outer Senshi's attempt?"

"Hmmm... no," the black lunar cat disagreed while shaking her head. "Firstly, Makoto might be flighty and boy-crazy but you and I know she's also completely loyal to the Moon Princess. Secondly, Pluto is the Guardian of Time. I have my suspicions about why the Outers are going after Hotaru but I don't have any proof."

"What suspicions, Luna?"

"Well, if I'm right, Artemis, then Hotaru is Sailor Saturn." Artemis gaped at her. "I know, I know... I don't say I'm right but it's the only logical thing I can come up with."

"You have an illogical reason?" Artemis asked, a trace of amusement in his tone.

Luna scowled. "I always wondered if Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were allied with the Dark Kingdom Generals." Artemis jerked upright and he stared at her. "I know and I don't have any proof, but their actions against the Inner Senshi make me wonder. I mean they are looking for specific Heart Crystals and they don't seem to care how they get them."

"Well, that's certainly something I haven't considered, Luna. However, there is something we can do." When his companion gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "Let's go ask Makoto. I'm sure she'll tell us about her mission." Luna was doubtful but agreed it couldn't hurt.

# # # # #

Kino Makoto stifled a yawn, dropped her pencil, and then sat back and stretched. She winced as some joints popped back into place. "Umm, what time is it?" she wondered aloud. She turned her head and made a face when she spotted the time. "Ugh, I've been sitting in one place for three hours. No wonder I'm stiff." Gingerly, she pushed back from her desk in her bedroom and stood up, wincing slightly. "Time for some tea and then bed." She turned towards the door only to do a complete one-eighty and face her window.

'Ami?' she wondered at the noise and pulled her curtains aside. "Luna? Artemis?" she asked even as she opened the window, "What's up?"

"We wanted to talk, Mako-chan," Luna said, hopping into the room and making her way over to the bed. She hopped onto it and turned. "We wanted to ask you a couple of things."

"About?" Makoto inquired, returning to her desk and swinging her chair around.

"Makoto, we wanted to know if you could tell us about your trip for Sailor Pluto," Artemis piped in, earning a glare from his feline companion.

"Trip?" the teenager asked feigning innocence until she remembered Luna was there that night. "N-Not really. You know how Pluto is about time."

"Yes," Luna stated with a frown. "I'd like to know though if she asked you to go back in time and eliminate Tomoe Hotaru."

"WHAT?" the brunette jerked as if she'd been hit.

"Makoto?" came the voice of her mother. "Are you all right?"

"Gomen Mom," the brunette called, "Just surprised by the answer on my homework." Her mother chuckled softly and walked away. "Explain," she growled when she was sure her mother was out of earshot.

The black lunar cat sighed but did so as requested. "I'm not saying you did, Mako-chan, but I'm worried."

The brunette teen relaxed a little and shook her head. "No, Luna, I wouldn't do that. Not only would it be wrong but if Sailor Pluto is that desperate, then she can do her own dirty work."

"Can you give us a hit?"

"No, Artemis, I can't," the teenager said firmly. "Listen, I need to talk with Pluto. Do either of you know how to get in contact with her?"

"The only way I know about is Luna-P," Luna admitted with a sour tone. She disliked Chibi-Usa's floating cat toy. "Is it urgent?"

"Not an emergency but I just... I wanna make sure of something."

"We'll think of something, Mako-chan," Artemis offered. Luna nodded. "I guess we were worried too because... well, you've changed."

Makoto sighed. "I know, Artemis, but maybe it's because I didn't like the person I was."

End of Chapter 10

Coming next in **Chapter 11 "**_**A Priestess' Concerns**_**"**

"Shoujo Fiction™ and the Shoujo Fiction™ logo are a Trademark of Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Copyrighted ©2002-2003, All Rights Reserved


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